To Love What's Lost
by sharky-clarky
Summary: Every one lost someone in the war, and alot of people forgot. But Frederick Weasley never could. How do you cope when no one willl listen? How can you heal when what's broken was taken away? Can a promise last a lifetime? Heres the story of how the Gryffindor lost his only love. AU where Fred lives. Set after, before and during the war.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first Harry Potter Fancfitcion, so please be open minded when reading. **

**I own nothing but the character of my own invention, the rest belong to J. .**

**REVEIW!**

* * *

It was late June; the morning sun was bleeding through the curtains into the living room of the second floor flat. The light illuminated the two people lying carelessly on the couch, one red head, and one brunette. Neither was asleep now, merely enjoying the close proximity to one another from how they were lying down. Her head on his chest, her wild, chocolate hair fanning out over his torso as she listened to the steady yet familiar thrumming of his heart.

His arm was draped around her waist, his head hanging back as his dark blue eyes stared at the single crack in his otherwise white ceiling.

"Fred?" he heard a voice say, craning his neck to look at his chest, his eyes caught those of his sister-in-law, Hermione.

"Yes, 'Mione" he replied, as he looked into her sad chocolate eyes. Although Ron and Hermione had never been able to get married after their engagement during the war, he did father her only child, Rose, who was currently finishing her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft And Wizardry on this very day. She had, however, legally changed her surname to Weasley through the Ministry of Magic, claiming that she and Ron had said their vows before he perished in the final battle.

Hermione had never stopped loving Ron, and it was easy to say she never would. It had been 18 years since the battle of Hogwarts, and some nights Fred would hear Hermione's cries through the wall, her screams for the lost Weasley. George had moved out to live as a family with his beautiful wife Angelina and their two children, Ron II and Roxanne, over 10 years ago. he still came to work at the shop everyday, occasionally bringing little Roxanne, his 2 year old daughter with him, but Fred still couldn't help feeling like he'd lost his twin.

"Have you ever been in love?" she asked. The years had been kind to her; she was a 37 year old woman, with enough stress to send most people screaming to St. Mungo's, but not a day of it showed on her face. Sure her hair was turning grey in places and her skin was wrinkling slightly around her eyes, but Fred still saw the beautiful teenage girl his brother had fallen in love with.

"Of course I have" he scoffed. "I love you silly" he said kissing her forehead playfully, making her giggle. She pushed against him, forcing him back down onto the sofa so he was once again looking into her eyes.

"Not in that way, Fred" she said exasperatedly, the smile no longer on her face. "Not in the way you love your family, but in a proper, heartfelt way. I've seen you date girls since the war, but you ditch them after a date, sometime even two. Have you ever loved someone like the way-"

"Like the way you loved Ron" he finished for her, the smile absent from his face. He looked older, Hermione noticed, when he didn't smile, less boyish, and more like the solider he once was.

"Yes" she replied, trying desperately to keep her voice from wavering. "Like the way I _love _Ron" Fred didn't miss the emphasis she put on the tense of the word. Love, not past tense, but present. But he didn't correct her, he understood her, Fred knew all too well what it was like to love someone who was already lost.

"I do, yes" he replied, shifting slightly so he was sat up, Hermione now sitting beside him. Her hair was wild from sleep, her cheeks tinged pink by the summer's heat.

"I don't understand" she replied, looking at the brother she loved as much, maybe even more than her others. More than Harry, more then George. Hermione always felt some sort of connection with Fred Weasley. Nothing romantic, nothing like that at all, but ever since the war they seemed more on the same wavelength, tuned to the same frequencies.

They could lie together like they had that morning and not have it be weird or awkward the next day, they would never question when the other cried or screamed in the night, they would only comfort and care for them. They never enquired where the other went sometimes when they arrived home at five in the morning, yet they always waited up. It was almost as through they feared the other would never return.

"I love someone the way you love Ron" he clarified. His head was rested on his hands; his knee's propping up his elbows as she stared at the floor. "Unconditionally and unquestionably"

"Who is she?" Hermione asked, her hand resting on the redheads shoulder, attempting to coax him into looking at her, to explain and share the burden.

"I said I love her, like you love Ron" he said, finally bringing his dark blue eyes to meet her brown. She stared into them and for the first time ever, Hermione was anxious looking at them. The pain and agony swimming in those sapphire eyes, the anger and fury, it was enough to make Hermione back up slightly, a shiver running down her spine.

Never had she seen Fred Weasley, the joker, the second part of the dynamic duo, look so cold. "So the question isn't 'Who is she?'" He half spat. "The question is" and he looked away, clenching his eyes shut, locking away everything he was feeling. He knew never to take his anger out on Hermione, that was their unspoken rule, though they were both grieving, you never used the other to vent your anger, you only comforted. "Who was she" he finally breathed out.

"Fred, I'm so sorry" Hermione gasped, wrapping her still skinny arms around his shoulders, her hand rubbing soothing patterns on the redheads back. "I didn't know" she cooed and she gently rocked him like he was a frightened child.

"I know you didn't" he replied, his voice sounded hoarse and choked, the voice someone got when they were holding back tears. "No one did, not really" they were silent after that, Fred sat staring at the floor; Hermione worked her hardest to comfort him with what little knowledge of this subject she had. Fred had comforted her perfectly, but he was suffering the same loss, she knew what it was that was missing from her life. How could she help him to grieve for someone she didn't even know the name of?

"You can ask me now" Fred said as he sat up, leaning his body against the back of the couch, acting as though he wanted it to swallow him whole.

"Who was she" Hermione asked tentatively, not wanting to press to hard on the fragile man. Too many nights she had been kept up by her nightmares, echoes of the war, and when it wasn't her screaming, it was him. She assumed it was the loss of Ron and the war as a whole that plagued Fred's dreams; never had she imagined he had lost somebody else, someone who meant so much more.

"Rose-marie Greengrass" he said proudly, smiling sadly at the name and all the memories it held as he stared longingly at nothing. "And she was the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful, and dare I say, bravest Slytherin that I have ever met." He stopped, taking a deep breath before he looked Hermione in the eyes again. "And I loved her, until the very end"

"I never knew, Fred" she said, her voice filled with regret and sorrow as her heart leapt out for this man. "Merlin, I feel so bad" she exclaimed suddenly.

"Don't feel bad 'Mione, only George knew about her really, and mum and dad" he added as an after thought. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Fred cut her off. "And Bill and Fleur."

"Any body else you want to add to the list" she said sarcastically.

"Well if you really want to know" he said with his boyish grin back on his face, holding up his hand as though he intended to tick people off as he went.

"No I don't" Hermione said putting her hand up to silence him. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Tell you what I do want though" she said to him, her eyes fluttering closed.

"What's that?" Fred asked draping an arm around her shoulder carelessly, the way a brother would.

"To pass the time until we pick up Rose tonight" She felt, rather than heard Fred's agreement to that. "Tell me a story, Fred" she said quietly as her head nestled into Fred's shoulder.

"Any preferences?" he asked jokily. When he felt her head shake, he thought for a second. "Okay then" he said with a deep breath "How about this one. This is the story of the Slytherin Princess and her Gryffindor Prince"

* * *

I was in my fifth year at Hogwarts School, which would have been your third, and we were in the second week of term. Every year since I started at Hogwarts school, me and George decided we would throw a prank to 'Christian' the school as we called it, a little welcome home thing if you wish. Just a little something to remind the students where they were and who was with them, our legacy.

So it was a fifth year and previously our start of year pranks had been slightly, well, dull. Flooding the second floor toilets and dying all the Slytherin bed curtains red was as good as it ever got for us really, but not this year, this year was going to affect everyone, no individual target, no one was going to be left out of this one. At least that was my plan.

So there we were, me and George, throwing water balloons filled with colour changing ink off the banisters onto unknowing students below as they went for their breakfast. Most of the students travelled in tight clusters, exchanging stories about their summer holidays, which wizard band was or was not cool at the moment, who liked who and other trivial and boring stuff, nothing to interest me or George.

That's when this single student walked through, no friends, no fellow students with her, she was completely alone. She didn't have a robe or a tie to signify her house, only a modest, slightly tight shirt; grey pleated skirt stopping about her mid thigh and socks up to her knees, all I knew was she wasn't in my year. Her luscious chocolate covered hair fell to her waist in soft, delicate waves, not quite curly, yet not straight either. She was tall from what I could tell, slim and curving where she should have been with skin so pale it put us Weasley's to shame, and we're all pretty pasty.

So I braced myself to throw the first balloon, I don't remember the colour or anything like that, only that I had the best shot of her head I could have asked for. Her back was turned; she didn't even notice us or the flickering colours of ink surrounding her as she walked. I held my breath, ready to throw it, ready to hit the back of her beautiful hair and all I remembered was George urging me on and someone else's voice at my ear.

"I wouldn't if I were you" it said. I turned around, trying not to move from my perfect throwing stance, and saw Peeves, our ever faithful pranking partner floating about five feet off the floor, juggling two ink filled balloons in his non-existent hands.

"Do you mind?" I replied, eying the poltergeist sceptically, trying not to let his words affect or intrigue me the way they were. Me and George, we pranked anyone and everyone in this school, why should we discriminate someone from another person, that's just unfair pranking on our part.

"I wouldn't prank Miss Greengrass if I were you" he snickered knowingly at me, his eyes indicating to the faceless brunette, previously my target.

"And why not?" George interrupted as I tried to keep my eyes on the poltergeist, not my newest target.

"Because, little Weasley's" he snickered again "there's only one person in this school who's as good a prankster as you two are, who also has a lust for revenge, and that is Rose-marie Greengrass" and he floated away, just like that, the goofy smile still on his face.

Slightly puzzled and confused, I turned back to release more balloons on the un-expecting students. Instead, I was greeted by Rose-marie Greengrass's light blue eyes meeting with mine. It was hard to tell from a distance, but she looked like an incredibly attractive girl. Curvy body, long legs that seem to never end, hair that shined in the flickering candle light, a soft, curved face with rosy cheeks and bright eyes filled with mischief.

She was stood with her arms crossed, one shoulder leaning against the greats halls doorway as she gazed up at where me and George were standing. She was smiling, or maybe it was smirking, it was hard to distinguish from this distance. All I knew was this was my kind of girl.

She blew a kiss in Peeve's direction, which he then caught and held to his chest, followed by a wink at who I still to this day swear to have been me, George thinks otherwise of course. And then she walked off, just like that into the great hall to join everyone else, her friends presumably. I didn't even know what house she was in.

"So that's our competition then Forge?" I heard George say as he threw an arm carelessly over my shoulder. "I think we can take her" he said cockily, the way all Gryffindor's do when faced with a challenge. I however thought differently, something about her smile, and the way her eyes gleamed with mischief and anticipation. Yes, she was definitely my kind of girl.

"Frederick and George Weasley" came the shrill voice of Professor McGonagall from the base of the stairs.

"Yes Minerva?" George said, receiving him a scowl from the elderly witch as she continued to ascend the stairs.

"That's Professor, to you two boys" she snapped, crossing her robed arms in front of her "Detention, for both of you, this Friday" she said once she'd reached us. We, not too willing to annoy McGonagall on the second week back, nodded and gave a mock salute before fleeing down the stairs and joining the sea of red and gold for our breakfast, and ii couldn't help keeping a watchful eye out for a pair of shimmering blue eyes as me and George stuffed our faces.

Mind you, that wasn't the first time I ever saw Rose-marie Greengrass, and if me and George had anything to do with it, it sure as Merlin wouldn't be the last.

* * *

"So that's how you met her, then?" Hermione enquired, her head no longer resting on Fred's shoulder as she sat next to him on the sofa. "A wink from across the entrance hall?"

"If you'd let me finish the story" Fred interrupted "You'd know that's not how we met, that was a whole other adventure" Hermione crossed her arms across her chest, huffing like a stropping child, effectively blowing a brown ringlet from her face.

"How did you two meet then?" Hermione nagged, nudging Fred gently by bashing her knee against his own.

"I was getting to that, woman" Fred said, feigning offence "Girls, honestly" he huffed, gaining him a surprisingly strong punch to the upper arm. "Ow! Okay, okay, I'll tell the rest" he said rubbing his likely bruised arm. "Now, where was I?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Reveiw!**

* * *

So there I was, two nights later, alone in the dormitory having a nap on a lovely Thursday afternoon. All classes were over for the day and so far I'd received no homework, always a plus. Anyway, that's how I was when George found me.

"Rose-marie Greengrass" he exclaimed, throwing a piece of parchment at me, successfully hitting me on the nose. "Fourth year, Slytherin, parents died when she was two, pureblood with a thing for astronomy" he finished, watching proudly from his leaning spot on my beds banister as I unrolled the parchment. Sure enough, there she was a moving photograph of her, presumably for a school picture they take of students every three years, that meant first years, fourth years, and seventh years all had photographs taken at the beginning of the school year. This was hers.

She was sat up straight, her long brown hair pushed away from her pale, almost white face. Her eyes were still bright and shinning, but without the mischief that had drawn me to her in the first place.

"I see you've done your research, Gred" I said with a smirk, not taking my eyes off of the smiling girl wearing the silver and green tie in the photograph. It didn't seem right somehow, a prankster in Slytherin house, I was near enough unheard of. all Slytherin's were proud and stuck up in my opinion, to see one as free spirited as she had seemed was absolute madness.

I don't know where George found this information, but from what I could see, he'd researched it himself. The photograph took up residence in the top left corner of the page; the rest of the parchment was adorned by the scruffy scrawl that was our handwriting and a few ink splodges. "How did you even find all this stuff?" I asked suspiciously and slightly amazed.

"I know some people" George shrugged making a big show of inspecting his nails as he avoided my eye.

"Lee?" it was more a statement than a question, but George nodded all the same, his smirk still etched onto his face. "So when do we get her?" I asked, throwing the parchment on my bed as I stood up, trying to avert looking back at her shinning eyes.

There was nothing remarkable about her, sure she was attractive in a blatantly obvious way, but she a Slytherin, a pureblood Slytherin, and they were all one in the same, all muggle and muggle-born haters with a keen sense of dark magic about them. I tried to distract myself from the thought of her dark, cruel pranks by eyeing my twin with the wicked smile one of us got when we had an idea, the exact same on he was wearing now.

"Tonight" he said with a grin as he wiggled his wand between his thumb and middle finger, red sparks flashing from the end of it.

The next morning, George and I were up earlier than usual, already washed, dressed and heading for the great hall. Somehow, George looked calm, his usual cocky smirk on his face. I, however, felt nervous. What if the prank didn't work? What if she knew the countercurse? What if she jinxed us in the middle of the great hall? All these thoughts were banished however when I finally sat down on the Gryffindor bench that allowed both me and George to see the rest of the great hall.

People began filing in a few minutes after, slowly at first, just one or two students at a time, and then it was the masses. The hordes of girls that giggled at snuck glances at you when they thought you weren't looking. Boys who spoke their quidditch opinions incredibly loud to arouse some sort of response from neighbouring houses.

After what felt to me like hours, and probably seconds to George, we saw a tall, slim figure with not quite straight, not quite curly hair stroll into the great hall proudly. Her light blue eyes were sparkling again, not just with mischief this time but something that looked oddly like challenge as well. This was easy to see when the girl you pranked last night was staring at you, right in the eyes as she walked to her table.

The only real difference about her was the colour of her hair. Where it was formally a beautiful brown that reminded me of melted chocolate it was now the brightest red possible. Not ginger-red like the Weasley's, no, we opted for something a little more Gryffindor in the colour spectrum. The best part was, whenever her head turned too fast, gold sparks erupted from her glowing her, crackling like fireworks around her head.

It was, in short a master piece, and the first time one of our pranks to have hit one single person instead of a group. And yet, Rose-marie looked, unaffected. She just sat next to some Slytherin girls that neither George, nor I, knew the names of and began chatting aimlessly, like nothing was new. Every now and then she'd move to grab some toast and the hair would erupt in a shower of sparks, all of them flittering around the Slytherin table, but all she did was giggle with her hand over her mouth and continue talking to some other green tied girl who looked upon her hair with admiration.

Deflated and disappointed, me and George dismissed ourselves, ruffling Ron's hair and before making a bee-line for the exit.

"It's like we did nothing!" George exclaimed when we were outside the great halls doors. I was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over my chest, one long, gangly leg over the other, eyes looking at the ceiling.

"Peeves did warn us" I replied, rubbing a hand over my eyes. Not because I was surprised or disappointed, but because I was exhausted. We'd had to stay up until the early hours of the morning before sneaking into the Slytherin common room, then we'd had to get in and after that we had to pull off the hair changing charm. This was all followed by and early start to make sure we caught all the action our prank had produced, which turned out to not be worth it at all. "We're obviously going to step up our game"

"Yes" said a voice, making both me and George snap our heads to look at. "You are" and standing there before us was Rose-marie Greengrass. Her red hair sparking with gold with every turn of her head, her sliver and green tie loose around her shirt that had the top two buttons undone. "I must say though" she said, reaching towards her sock and pulling out what looked like a cherry wood wand "It is an impressive charm" she flicked her wrist above her head and her hair returned to the luscious, silky brown that made me want to run my fingers through it, just to see if it felt as glorious as it looked.

"We try our best" George said, his cocky yet somewhat flirty façade back in its rightful place. Rose-marie didn't seem phased.

"I've noticed" she said with a mischievous smile. "Rose-marie" she said, extending a slim, pale hand towards me.

"Fred Weasley" I said with a smirk, accepting her out stretched hand. It took all my will power to let go, her skin was so soft and cool, it was like holding fresh snow, I could almost feel the disappointment flood through me when she released my hand in exchange for George's.

"Well" she said when George released her hand; his face showing no hints that he was feeling the same withdrawal from not holding her hand. There was something about her, something that fascinated me too the point of obsession, and I'd barely spoken to her for five minutes. I passed it off as a competitive drive against a rivalling prankster, not knowing what else it could be "As fun as this has been" she said pointing to her back to brown hair "I have lessons to get to" she gave each of us a smile and proceeded to walk daintily over to the stairs.

George and I turned simultaneously to walk back into the great hall when he spoke up again, her soft, alluring voice shredding through the still humid late summer air.

"Oh, and boys" she said making us both crane our necks to look over our shoulders. "This isn't over" and with a wink and a wave, she disappeared up the stairs and out of sight.

"Can you believe her?" George finally said when we were both lying on the dew ridden grass, the moisture seeping into my white shirt from where I was lying, my mind taunted by the chill of her hands. I must have misheard how George worded what he said since I replied simply with –

"No, I really can't"

* * *

"So, is that when you realised you loved her?" Hermione said, her head resting atop her hands. She was crossed legged now on the sofa looking up and Fred as he retold his story, a small, almost unnoticeable smile gracing his features.

"Merlin no!" He exclaimed, looking at Hermione like she'd just sprouted wings and horns. "What is it with you girls and love at first sight?" he asked prodding Hermione's forehead like he examining a frozen caveman. "Do I look that soppy? No, I'm a man, It takes a long time to steal my heart" he said, puffing out his chest and faux pouting, looking strangely like a Greek statue.

"No need to make fun" Hermione said with a laugh, shoving his shoulder so he stumbled, almost landing on the floor. "I just meant is this where you realised you liked her?" Hermione asked earnestly.

"Of course I did, she was a beautiful girl and I was a hormonal teenage boy, what wasn't to like?" Fred replied waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Hermione gave him nothing but a pointed look with her arms crossed over her chest. "Fine" Fred sighed "but, no, this isn't where I realised I liked her, that wasn't until the Christmas of my fifth year"


	3. Chapter 3

So it had been three months since the pranking war began, George and me against Rose-marie Greengrass. There were fair hits on both sides, some more affective than others. She'd some how managed to sneak a cage load of Cornish pixies into our dormitory. It's fair to say the damage was catastrophic, especially when the little blighters wake you up at four in the morning having found your stash of dungbombs… that wasn't a pretty sight.

Anyway, three months had gone by and nothing more than a wink or a snide remark had passed between either side, (aside from the pranks of course). Not a single conversation since that first one outside the great hall. It was fair to say I was more intrigued by this girl now than I was before. To start with it was mere curiosity, why did she prank? Who taught her? Where did her ideas come from? But now, three months on, it was a fascination, almost an obsession with this girl.

I wanted to know it all, her favourite food, her favourite colour, what her family was like, what her interests were, the lot, I wanted to know what made this girl tick; it was driving both me and George mad.

"Freddie, just ask her" George's muffled exclamation came from beneath his pillow. It was nearing two in the morning on the first Friday of December, the day before the first Hogsmede weekend.

"Why would I want to ask her?" I replied, astounded he would think such a thing about this Slytherin girl. "Besides, she'd never say yes, she probably has some Slytherin boy carting her around." A strange noise came from beneath George's pillow then, half human half animal. "I'm sorry Gred, am I being nuisance"

"Not you per se" he replied, lifting the pillow half way off his face, his eyes half open as they looked up at me where I paced the room. "Your pacing and your questions and your overall angst however, that is being nuisance" and he let the pillow flop back onto his face.

"I don't pace" I said defectively only to receive a scoffing sound from beneath his pillow. "I don't" I emphasised.

"Fine" George replied "you don't pace" his voice sounded nowhere near believable, more mocking and sarcastic. "But if you don't ask her, I will" he suddenly exclaimed.

"why would you want to go with her" I blurted out, trying not to let the panic in my voice show, George however knew how I felt before even I did, so he caught it.

"I'll ask her for you, you dolt." He said throwing the pillow at my face that I swiftly batted away, like a cat with a fly "I have no interest in her that way" he then elaborate in response to my likely still shocked face.

"Fine, I'll ask her" I said, falling back on my bed, hands over my face.

"Finally!" George half shouted, earning him an angry grumble for Lee's bed "Now I'm going to bed" and in the way George always seemed to be, he was out like a light, which left me alone with the thoughts of how the hell I was going to ask this girl to come to Hogsmede with me.

I finally fell asleep that night and awoke feeling even groggier and agitated then I had the night before. Still, there was a new day waiting to be blessed by half of the dynamic duo, and I never was one to disappoint. I'd already washed and dressed before the others in my dorm and was heading down to breakfast, thinking over and over how to ask her. Do I single her out? Catch her on her own, or in a crowd? In the great hall of outside? Was it too late to back out now?

My questions of course were answered when I saw a flash of silky looking chocolate hair swishing past the shoulders of a certain Slytherin girl who was, for the first time since I'd met her, wearing robes.

"Rose-marie" I shouted towards her, not quite aware I was doing it. She turned, giving me a weird, almost shocked look as her shining aqua eyes met the darker, blander blue of mine.

"Fred?" she asked, more or statement than question, but still I nodded in response.

"You can tell us apart?" I enquired once I'd caught up with where she was stood, waiting for me to join her.

"It's not all the hard" she said with a shrug. "You both show different emotions around certain people. For example, you blush around girls more than he does." She said like it was obvious, like she was studying a creature for Hagrid's weird and bizarre classes.

"Thanks" I replied, trying not to let the embarrassment into my voice, any other time I would her refused her observation, started a battle of who had the sharper wit, but not today. No, today my nerves were on fire, each nerve ending bristling with anticipation and worry. Would she say yes, or no? "I really needed to know that" I retorted, hoping I sounded at least I little free spirited.

"You're welcome" was all she said, letting us fall into an awkward silence that ensnared us both, or maybe it was just me since she looked exactly the same. Her hair pushed away from her face, framing its heart-like shape delicately, her arms were crossed over her chest, the sleeves of her robes blocking out any other defining feature aside from the tips of her shoes. "I'm assuming you called me for a reason?" she asked with a smile in her voice, breaking what felt like a millennia of a silence.

"What?-Oh, yeah. About that"

"Spit it out goofball" she said with a smirk, obviously thoroughly amused by both my stuttering and the redness I could feel snaking its way up my neck. "I do have classes"

"Goofball?" was all I asked in response to which she rolled her eyes.

"To the point" she said, snapping her fingers directly under my nose like I was locked in a trance, her voice filled with annoyance too playful to be true.

"Okay" I said, readying myself as quick as I could. For all I knew she was on the verge of another pranking attack and I was being the easiest target. The war however seemed to be fairly laid out, one side only attacked after the others had struck. Since she was the last to prank us by swapping our wands with rather long bowtruckles which then progressed to attack us meant it was our turn to strike. "willyougohogsmedewivme" I blurted out in one breath, earning me an very confused glare.

"English?" she asked, the sarcasm in her tone somewhat light but also cautious.

"Will you" I said, looking her straight in the eyes, her were guarded behind a wall of caution, nothing showing through but the suspicions of her prankster mind. "Go to Hogsmede with me, tomorrow" I added, watching as her face turned from cautious to shocked to amused within the space of seconds. After a few seconds of me waiting an answer she actually scoffed out laugh. A strange sound, almost inhuman, but melodic all the same.

"Me" she said, pointing to her self with her index finger "go to Hogsmede" she continued, her voice darkening slightly "With you" she near spat the words and followed them with a harsh laugh. "Is this your next hit?" she enquired harshly, luckily we were tucked away in a corridor currently baron of any other students, leaving me and Rose-marie alone. "Ask me out so that you can no doubt stand me up" she was spitting each word with such venom, it was like I could feel each syllable branding into my arm. Her eyes were alight with anger, but there was something else, something deeper in those aqua orbs, she looked…hurt. "You're pathetic"

"Rose-marie" I started as she crossed her arms and began walking away, not towards the great hall, towards somewhere else. She didn't turn around. "Rose-marie" I tried again, following her as she slipped her way through throngs of students, passing through the crowd like smoke.

Never had I felt so guilty in my whole life, there I was, trying to ask a girl I had a strange and borderline creepy fascination with, on a date, and she had looked like I'd dropped a dead puppy in her lap, disgusted and offended.

Just when I thought I'd lost her, I saw her disappear through a door on the opposite side of the corridor. I followed, obviously, wanting to know what I had done to gauge such a harsh reaction, such a cruel accusation.

The room was an old classroom, currently out of use by the amounts of cobwebs hanging from every item of furniture higher than three feet from the ground. I saw her sat on a desk, her back to me, her feet firmly planted on the desk's chair.

"Go away Fred" she spat; not turning around to look at me, or even eradicate it was me to have followed her.

"I don't quite understand what just happened" I said, trying not to show the hurt in my voice. Granted she hadn't rejected me, but she hadn't exactly jumped at the chance either.

"Like you don't know" she spat back. "You obviously aren't very informed in the ways of pranking" she turned then, her blue eyes once again filled with a burning anger, like flames rippling off of a lake. "You annoy, maybe frustrate an individual with a joke, something they can shake off. You don't take a stab at the first weakness you can see" she turned her back on me again, her hair falling on either side of her face she made no move to push it back.

"You think this is a _prank_?" I said, gaping at her with my mouth open like a fish. How could she think something this low of me, sure pranking was more or less my purpose at this school, but I was a fun prankster, someone to make others laugh, I wasn't cruel.

"Of course it is" she said, throwing her hands up in the air, exasperated. "People like you, don't ask out people like me and mean it" she said, her eyes looking less angry and more hurt the more she looked at me.

"People like me?" I echoed back at her and, despite the situation, she rolled her eyes at me, an action I couldn't help but smirk at.

"Yes" she said "people like you" her voice was patronising, like she correcting a child who had said two plus two was cat or something stupid like that. "The Gryffindor Prince doesn't dally with Slytherin girls"

"Gryffindor Prince?" I asked but left no room for her to answer, before I spoke again, I just let the enquiry hang in the air like a bad smell. "Rose-marie, I'm not asking you out as a prank" I said, trying to keep my voice calm and steady. "I'm asking you to come on a date with me because I _want _you to" I said, trying to make her see the truth.

Something in the way I said it or the look on my face must have burst through her walls. Her face fell from a state of hurt to a state of shock. Her eyes were wide, her mouth centimetres from hanging open.

"You actually want me to go out with you?" she sounded incredulous, like I'd said she was sisters with Moaning Myrtle. Not trusting myself to reply I simply nodded, and it's fair to say, I've never seen a girl flush any redder than she did then. Her usually pale face flooded with colour, her eyes avoiding any contact with mine what so ever. "No one's ever asked me out seriously before" she said, almost to herself, as though she only meant to say it in her mind. Once she realised she'd said it out loud she hid her face in her hands, making a strange groaning noise into her palms. "I've just made the biggest fool of myself, haven't I?" she asked, her face still in her hands.

I couldn't help it, I laughed.

"Just a bit" I said, trying to throw some boyish charm into my voice despite the nervousness that was still yet to subside. "Come one" I said "we should get to class." She nodded and stood, brushing dust from her skirt and picking cobwebs off of her robes as we walked towards the door.

"Fred?" she said as I reached the door. She was standing beside me now, her bright blue eyes staring up into mine. Only then did I notice how much smaller than me she was. The top of her head just met my nose, making her crane her neck to look at me properly. She looked, vulnerable and shy, two things I never would have associated with Rose-marie Greengrass before today.

Tucking her hair behind her ear she cleared her throat. Avoiding eye contact with me before throwing her arms around my neck. She didn't say anything else before breaking away and disappearing out into the corridor.

* * *

"She'd never been on a date before?" Hermione asked incredulously, to which the red headed man nodded. "How old was she then?" she asked, her brown eyes brimming with questions she so longed to answer.

"Well I was 15 at the time" Fred said looking at her earnestly "making her 14" this seemed to satisfy Hermione since she sat back a bit, her shoulder slumping despite the weight of all the questions she wanted to ask.

"So you were her first date?" Hermione said with a wink. Fred smiled a rare smile that no one, not even Hermione had seen since before the war. A smile filled with hope and happiness, not just joy and laughter, this was a smile that was retched from the deepest parts of Fred's soul, a place he'd all but shut off after the war. "How was it?"

"Pipe down and I'll tell you" Fred retorted with his best old man voice. This, once again, earned him a punch to the shoulder. "Merlin 'Mione" he winced at the new bruise he had earned that day.

"Then tell the story" she said with a challenging glint in her eyes, a glint that scared Fred more than anything else. If he thought Ginny's bat-bogey hex was bad, he was in for a fright with the brightest witch of her age.

"Okay, okay, jeez." he said, whistling a breath through his teeth. "So our first date…"

* * *

So we met at the gates, the way all students do before Hogsmede. George ran off looking for Angelina, his current love interest, leaving me to scout the crowds for Rose-marie. It didn't take me long to find her, mostly because she was standing by herself, a fair distance away from all the Slytherin couples. It didn't pass my notice though how Malfoy was looking at her over the top of Pansy's head. She however, openly ignored him much to my delight.

It was cold out today, snow dusting the ground of the courtyard where we all stood, waiting for McGonagall to let us through the gates and down into the village. She was wearing a grey skirt down to her knees with thick tights and what looked like trainers on her feet, with a green top under a faded denim jacket. Her Slytherin scarf was firmly knotted around her neck and she was rubbing her bare hands together to try and keep them warm against the chill. A few flakes of snow clung to strands of her chocolate hair, the delicate dusting still falling around us all.

As I got closer I saw how she kept looking around, subtly trying to pick someone out of the crowd, someone I later realised, was me. Her pale cheeks were tinged pink, her lips a darker colour than usual as she kept her face towards the snowy ground, her feet scuffing away to the cobblestones. The wind was lifting her chocolate hair away from her shoulders, making it waft in the breeze like washing on a line; she made no move to push it away from her face.

"Hey" I said when I was stood before her, not too close, just close enough that I wasn't shrouded in other bustling students as they gossiped with one another.

"Fred" she blurted out, frantically pushing the hair that fell in her face behind her ears, a habit I'd soon learn she did a lot when she was nervous. "I thought you weren't coming" I could see the disbelief in her large blue eyes as they stared up at me, so full of hope and trust, I must already of gone up in her rankings just for turning up that day.

"Well if you'd rather I left" I said, feigning hurt, turning my body slightly as I stuck my hands in the pockets of my ripped jeans, making as if I was going to leave.

"No!" she half shouted lunging forwards to wrap her slim fingers around my lower arm, spinning my body to face her. The second my eyes caught hers she let go, backing off sheepishly as she tried pushing her thick, whipping hair behind her ears. "I just meant-"she continued but cut her self off "You know what? Never mind. I'm just glad you didn't change your mind" it was hard not to catch the lilt in her voice, the little pang of hurt she showed when she spoke, but she picked herself up quickly and efficiently, straitening her back in the proud way I'd seen her do before.

"Shall we?" I said, raising an eyebrow as I extending my arm towards her, gesturing for her to take hold. If possible she blushed more, trying to avoid any eye contact with me she could. "Hey" I said and her eyes lifted to mine. "You're the one who called me a prince" I said with a wink, trying not to laugh at the appalled humour registered on her face. She gave my shoulder a shove and we began walking towards the path that led to Hogsmede, not realising the other students had already left, or the grey eyes that followed us as we walked beside each other, laughing and talking all the way. The walk to Hogsmede had never seemed so short to me.

The rest of the day was great, we walked around the village for a while, each of us pointing out things we'd found in previous trips with other people. We told stories, most of mine including George, my family, or the boy who lived, her were a little more secluded to the school, things she'd achieved, prank she'd pulled, nothing more than that.

"Do you ever get tired of having so many siblings?" she asked when we were finally seated in the three broomsticks, a butterbeer in front of us both.

"Not really" I replied. Having grown up as one of the seven Weasley's was just my lifestyle, I didn't flaunt it and I didn't hide it, it was just who I was, fact. "It's great to know I've got someone for every problem" and I did. There was Charlie when I needed someone to listen, Bill for advice about girls or money, Percy when I needed scolding, Ron when I needed someone to irritate or annoy, Ginny when I needed to feel like the protective brother I was, and then there was George for everything else.

This apparently wasn't the answer Rose-marie had been expecting since she only nodded solemnly, staring at the froth on top of her untouched butterbeer as she held the tankard in her cupped hands.

"What about you?" I asked, taking a sip of the warmed beverage.

"What about me?" she asked with a raise eyebrow. She had abandoned her scarf and jacket on one of the entrance pegs, leaving her in her silky and expensive looking green blouse, the top three buttons undone to reveal a modest amount of her pale skin, a winking silver chain hanging around her throat.

"Any siblings?" she looked taken aback to start with, like nobody ever asked about her family, or that they all knew.

"My adoptive parents have a son if that's what you mean" she said, her face earnest and understanding, like she'd expected me to leave at the word 'adoptive'. Of course I knew Rose-marie was adopted, but now wasn't the time to ask who her parents were or what happened to them. "And he's...insufferable" she breathed out with a laugh, one I gladly joined. She looked up for a second, her eyes glancing to the side and she let out an exhausted sigh. "Speak of the devil" she said, resting her head on her arms, her butterbeer abandoned.

I craned my neck over the throng of people to look towards the door, and who had just entered. I saw a pig faced looking girl with dark hair first, and behind her, a flash of platinum hair before I looked back at Rose-marie who was peeking at me beneath her dark hair, like a child trying to hide from her parents in plain sight.

"Malfoy" I manage to say in a shocked whisper, making her nod.

"His parents took me in when I was two. Nobody else would" she said with a shameful shrug. "It's not all bad" she said after a brief silence "his fathers civil towards me, as I am to him, but his mother is a joy to be around. She's my mother and I love her."

"Well" I started, only to be rudely interrupted by one person I didn't want to, and never wanted to have a conversation with.

"Well this is cosy" Malfoy spoke with a sarcastic tone, a superior one, even in the face of two purebloods.

"What do you want Draco?" Rose-marie said looking the boy directly in the eye, her tone that of an annoyed older sister. I may have seen people stand up to Malfoy before, but that was generally Harry, and even then he didn't do it so casually. He usually talked himself into it, or did it to stand up for Hermione, or Neville.

"My, my" he replied, watching over me with a strange mix of glee and contempt. "No need to be so rude sister-dear" he said with a cocky smirk, Rose-marie only rolled her eyes in reply. "I only wanted to know why you were so cosy with Weaselby" he spat, indicating towards me with his thumb.

I looked at Rose-marie who was blushing with either embarrassment of annoyance, I couldn't tell.

"If that was your business, Draco, I would have told you before hand. I don't need permission from you about whom I can and cannot share my time with" she ended her little lecture with a sickly sweet smile, the kind that caused Malfoy to back away slightly.

"We'll see what father says about this" he said, pointing an accusing finger at her in a 'mark my words' kind of way, like a villain defeated in those muggle films you've forced me to watch countless times.

"I don't doubt I will" she sneered back at him. And then he left, without another word, just grabbed Pansy's wrist and pulled her out of the door into the cold, not sparing a second glance. "Sorry you had to see that" Rose-marie whispered shyly "Brothers" she added with a longing tone, like she wanted a real family, not one she was placed into.

"Do you want to get out of here?" I asked her, reaching to place my hand on hers. She nodded, her eyes looking out the window at the dusting of snow that had began to fall once again.

"Muggle music? Really" I asked her when we were walking back towards the castle.

"No need to mock me" she said, her arms were crossed against her chest, holding her denim jacket shut, her head was bent down slightly against the wind, her hair blowing around her head hysterically. "Besides, your father's obsessed with muggles." She said with a smirk.

"I'm not judging" I replied, holding my hands up in mock surrender, receiving me a childish, yet playful pout from her. "I think it's cute" she smiled up at me, not bothering to tuck her hair behind her ears anymore, letting it flap around her in the breeze like fire. Her smile was sweet, soft and kind, something so different from her usual smirk that reeked arrogance and superiority like a usual Slytherin. Instead it was looked like the normal smile of a happy girl. I could almost forget all my house prejudices.

"Fred" she said as we began walking again. The wind was dying down now, enough so that Rose-marie didn't have to keep shoving her hair away from her face, instead it gently lapped against her rosy cheeks like a steady tide. "Do you think it would be a good idea to be a team?" she asked. I looked at her, slightly confused as to what was happening.

"A team?" I echoed at her. She kept looking at me, her big blue eyes determined and full of hope.

"Yeah, a pranking team, you, me and George working together instead of against each other. You know I have good ideas and we could be legends at this school."

"Wow, you've got a lot of ambition for a 14 year old girl" I said with a laugh, not looking at her as we walked along.

"Slytherin house is based on ambition" she scolded "Not all of us are self righteous, egotistical racists" she spat, but the anger wasn't aimed at me, I think it was aimed at her house.

"So, a team?" I said, peeking at her from the corner of my eye. She looked less hopeful now, more cautious, worried no doubt about rejection.

"You and George would be the faces of course" she added quickly before I could respond "I'd only work with you on the ideas, no one has to know we're friends" she seemed to flinch slightly at her words, like she wanted to take back the prospect of the three of us ever being friends.

"It sounds like a great idea" I said with a smile, watching with keen interest as her face lit up with joy, her smile spilling enough radiance to light up the white landscape.

"Really?"

"Yes" for the second time in under a week, Rose-marie threw her arms around my neck, reaching up on her tip-toes and dragging me into a tight embrace, only this time, I hugged her back. Her breath was tickling my ear, warm air pushing some of my hairs away from my ears.

"Thank you" she whispered in my ear. It was then I realised, Rose-marie didn't seem to have many friends. Sure she sat with a group of girls at breakfast, but walking to the hall, away from the hall, to lessons and every other time I'd seen her, she'd been alone. She just faded through the school, un-noticed. She was like a ghost. A lonely ghost.

"We should do this again sometime" I shouted after her as she walked away towards the castle. Her hair was flying around wildly when she turned to me and smiled over her shoulder. I never did ask her out again.

* * *

"Frederick Gideon Weasley!" Hermione shouted, her voice sounding appalled "You did not" was all she said. Her round face looked furious, like the redhead had just slapped her, or told her he'd murdered the Minister for Magic

"What?" he asked back, legitimately, his sapphire blue eyes confused and oblivious.

"How could you do that to her, never ask her out again" Hermione was calming down again, yet Fred didn't understand her cause for alarm. Sure he'd never asked her out again, but he hadn't needed to. After that, Rose-marie, Fred and George were a trio, a group of friends who were inseparable, similar to that of Ron, Harry and Hermione. None of the other students seemed to notice the Slytherin girl always spending time with the dynamic duo, but no one really cared either. It was perfect.

"I didn't need to" he said in his defence, a slight lilt of regret tinged into his voice "We never really looked at each other that way again. Whenever we hung out was with George, and we were both happy with that"

"Were you though?" Hermione's voice was quiet now, more tentative and loving.

"At the time, yes. But after a while I did begin to notice more about her, and I wanted to know more about her, but I didn't know what was left to know.

"Tell me what you knew about her" she pressed, resting a slim hand, one so similar to Rose-marie's on Fred's knee. A comforting gesture, nothing romantic at all.

"She loved muggle music" he said with a solemn expression. "And she smoked muggle cigarettes after she was 15 and played the piano beautifully" his eyes were shinning now, brightening to a glow as he spoke of his lost love. He told Hermione everything, her favourite colour, the way she walked, her hope and her dreams, not a single detail was left out. Hermione even seemed thrilled that she read the same girly muggle novels that Hermione did.

"I wish I'd met her" Hermione breathed out, deflated and remorseful about the girl she didn't know.

"You did" Fred announced, making Hermione give a raise eyebrow.

"When?"

"Your fourth year, when you went dress shopping with Ginny in Hogsmede" he replied. Hermione's eyes were doubtful and confused, wondrous as to how Fred could possibly know more than she did on the matter, something the old Hermione would have hated. How the war changed people.


	4. Chapter 4

It was early December and you and Ginny had left for Hogsmede together. I'd gone with George and Rose-marie that weekend, our supply of dungbombs needed replacing if we were to have the prank we'd been working on. Plus Rose-marie wanted to update her sweet collection, for such a slim girl she sure as hell had a sweet tooth.

After we (Me and George) had spent all of our money, we began walking back the castle. That was until Rose-marie grabbed my sleeve, dragging me towards a very prettily done window display.

"I need to go in here" she said, dragging me along with her. I revelled in the fact she hadn't asked George but that's what Rose-marie did, chose me over George. I assumed it was because George only spoke about Angelina and it was enough to make your ears bleed sometimes. Never the less, I let my heart give its little somersault of victory and carried on.

"A dress shop?" I questioned her from outside.

"Yes, very observant of you Freddie" she said in a patronising voice, like she was with a child and not a 16 year old boy.

"Why are you dragging me into a dress shop, Rosie?" since she'd insisted on calling me Freddie and George Georgie, we'd seen it only fair to give her a little nickname.

"Because I need a dress, I thought that would be obvious" she smiled back at me, still attempting to drag me through the doors.

"Yeah, I'd gathered as much, but why _me._" I said about as sarcastically and pleadingly as I could. "Why not your date?" and I was proud of how little of my worry showed through my voice.

"Because I don't have a date yet and I've heard about as much about Angelina today than I can stomach."

"You've not got a date?" I was about as shocked as you could be. Here she was Rose-marie Greengrass, oldest 'child' of the Malfoy's, hair like chocolate, eyes brighter than the sky and legs that went on forever. Who wouldn't want to go with her? "You've got the Dumstrang boy's staying in your house quarters and you've not got a date? How have none of them asked you"

"They have" she replied once we were inside "And I made the wise and mature choice to say no to them all."

"All?" now I was getting jealous "how many have asked?" she smiled at me kindly, but her eyes were filled with mischief when she answered.

"Eight or nine" just as I opened my mouth to reply, I saw a certain brunette wander in to the shop with a familiar redhead by her side. "Isn't that your sister" Rose-marie said turning to look at me, only to find I was gone. "Oh, well that's just charming" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of the two girls.

"Excuse me?" Ginny said lowering the first dress she was examining while Hermione tried her first choice on.

"I said that dress looks charming" Rose-marie replied with her kindest smile, not the one I got to see, me and George, but the one that would make you believe anything. It's probably the smile that someone wears just before the kill someone, but Ginny just blushed and continued looking at the dress. I could never understand how quickly Rose-marie could save herself in these situations; maybe it was a Slytherin thing. "You should get it" she added, and with a nod, Ginny disappeared into the changing room beside yours.

"Who are you talking to Gin" you said when you walked out wearing a long yet, dare I say, boring green dress. The kind of dress that would go very easily overlooked.

"That was me" Rose-marie said, waving a hand before your face "that dress is beautiful" she said with a voice that clearly meant she had more to say.

"But?" you added cautiously, but the sweet smile never left Rose-marie's face.

"But" she said holding a finger out "I think this one would look better" and she held before you the very dress you wore to the Yule Ball. You gave her a nervous smile, clearly not sure if you should wearing something so eye catching, before turning back into the dressing room.

She left then, disappeared out of the shop before either of you had finished trying the dresses on. I'd managed to walk out unnoticed a few seconds later, meeting a rather disappointed looking Rose-marie on the street. She had her arms crossed over her chest, her hair flickering around her face from under her blue hat.

"Now that" she said pointing towards the shop, her fingers white and looking extremely cold "Was just rude"

"The last place I want to be caught by my sister, is in a dress shop" I replied with a cocky smile, one that usual stopped her being mad or sulking, this time it didn't seem to be working.

"Didn't want to be seen in the shop" she said "or with a certain person in the shop"

"Rosie" I replied "You don't honestly think I don't want to be seen with you" but she didn't seem to believe me, she wasn't looking at me anymore, her arms crossed again as she scuffed at the ground. It reminded me of the time I'd asked her to Hogsmede and she'd accused me of pranking her. I understand why that upset her now, but I couldn't understand why this was bothering her. It seemed that Rose-marie Greengrass was a girl you had to figure out as you went along.

"It's plausible"

"No its not" I said and the tone of my voice must have been new because it made her look at me, shock hidden in the light blue of her eyes. "I hid because I wanted to ask something I didn't want to say in front of my little sister"

"Oh? And what was that then?" she spat, looking away once again as she became very interested in the bakery across the street.

"I wanted to ask you to the Yule Ball" I spat back just as harshly. Snapping her head round so quickly it not have hurt, she glowered at me, her eyes filled with half anger, half shock.

"You are joking?" she said somewhat softer, and I couldn't ward off the stab of pain that shot through me.

"When have I ever joked about asking you out" and we both smiled at a memory of two teenagers one year ago having a similar argument.

"I thought you didn't see me that way anymore?" she questioned, even when she had said she didn't see me that way in the first place, she told me I was like a brother to her, something I had to return to avoid getting angry or shouting or worse. "Okay" she said, even when I didn't reply and I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at her, a soundless question she'd learned to understand from me. "I'll go with you" and that time I couldn't help myself, I threw my arms around her shoulders, revelling in the speed in which she hugged me back.

I don't know how long the embrace lasted, all I knew was I finally had my date, and I only had three weeks to listen to George labour on about a girl to me who wasn't Angelina.

* * *

"That's who that was!" Hermione exclaimed "I asked Ginny and she didn't know either" she fell back against the headrest of the sofa, her eyes closed "I swore I saw you with her at the Yule ball, but Ginny said I was 'emotionally exhausted' and so I played it off as nothing. I knew it though!" Fred just smiled at her. He knew how hard it used to be for Hermione Granger not to know something, how it used to plague her mind until she found the answer, this little revelation from her was a little window to the past, a view of Hermione how she used to be, Hermione before the war.

"Do you need a minute?" the redhead asked sarcastically, poking at the brunette's cheek, almost as if to check she was alive.

"No I don't" she answered, batting away his hand like a cat with a fly. "I need to hear more about you and this girl" she said as she sat forward again with a raised eyebrow. At some point Hermione had pulled her hair back into a pony tail, any will to tame it the way she usually did was lost. Her face was clear of makeup and she was still wearing her pyjamas, an image that wanted to make Fred laugh, but instead he smiled fondly at the memory of the Yule Ball he spent with the girl he grieved.

"As you wish my lady" he said cockily, faux bowing towards her which, when sat on a sofa, proved a challenge

Christmas Eve, 1994, the Yule ball. This was the night where we could, as McGonagall said, let our hair down. I was waiting by the fountain in the courtyard where I'd picked Rose-marie up for our first date. The air was cold but I didn't mind it really. Call me a girl, but what worried me right now was what Rose-marie thought of what I was wearing. I knew she didn't want to be Slytherin, but to me, it was apart of who she was, a pariah of sorts. So to compliment that, call me crazy but I decided to go to the Yule Ball in the Slytherin colours.

So there I stood, at _7:53 _in the freezing cold wearing black shoes, grey trousers, a white shirt under a green waistcoat and since I didn't have time to charm it a different colour, my black robes. My hair I had neglected, same as George since, well, we didn't know what to do when it came to hair, we just woke up and let it do its own thing.

"You're early" said a voice from behind me, a soft yet snide voice I'd recognise anywhere. "We aren't supposed to be meeting until eight" I turned around and I honestly think I forgot how to breathe. There she was, Rose-marie Greengrass, my date, looking like an angel. It was hard to see in the dim light, but the candles shone through the doorway illuminating her figure perfectly, showing me enough of her dress to make my breath lodge in my throat.

She wore a long red dress that clung to all of her curves before fanning out ever so slightly. The dress didn't have any straps, showing me her pale, bare shoulders. The bodice was adorned with cursive embroidery of golden thread, followed by some golden jewels, her silver chain that usually held her family ring was still rested around her throat, but the ring was gone. Her brown hair looked shimmering gold in the dim light of the candles, but I could see how delicately she had curled it, pinned bits back and wrapped a small section with one red and one gold ribbon.

"Slytherin colours" she said pointing towards me and I saw the ring winking on her index finger, it was only there for a second and then it was gone, but the thought alone of her wearing her family ring to an event like this made my heart swell. "Cute"

"Gryffindor?" I asked and she blushed slightly.

"Shall we?" I said and this time, unlike our first date, she took my arm and allowed me to take her inside, towards the ball. It wasn't until that moment I realised how in sync our minds truly were, how much we were a team.

We were the third couple I think to join the dance floor, and due to me ditching my robe before we'd even began, we were greeted by gasps from most of the room and a knowing, proud look from Dumbledore as he danced with McGonagall.

The ball had begun to thin out by about _10:45_ but Rose-marie and I didn't leave, we had, for some strange reason, promised to be the last to leave the Great hall.

"This is my first ball" Rose-marie said "and I don't doubt it to be my last, and I'd like to have one happy memory to look back on, so as to stop the others being hell" her voice was sad when she spoke, but I understood. Being a daughter, even if she adopted, of rich, former deatheaters must be a challenge, so may parties with people you don't and don't want to know.

"Fred?" said the soft voice of Rose-marie from where her head was lying on my chest. The song was slow and there wasn't really any other way to dance to it than with her head on my chest, her arm around my back with her other clasped in mine while my free hand sat tentatively over her waist, neither of us moving our feet, only swaying.

"Yes?" I replied, looking down at where her head was resting. Her eyes were closed, the pale gold shimmer of her eye makeup glittering in the white lit room.

"Why me?" she asked lightly, her eyes still closed as she spoke.

"Because you're my best friend besides George, and I wasn't bringing him" I said with a laugh.

"Why not a girl from your year, a girl you like in that way? not your friend." She replied earnestly, trying to gauge an answer out of me, one I didn't know.

"Because I don't see anyone like that" I said with a shrug, it was a lie but she seemed to believe it. She smiled slightly, I don't think I gave her the answer she was expecting or the one she wanted, but you never knew with Rose-marie, the girl was a mystery.

"Rosie?" I asked and she made a small sound of recognition before I spoke again. "Would you like to spend tomorrow with me and George in the Gryffindor tower?" her eyes opened then and they were staring up at me with disbelief. She had told me how she resented Christmas in the Slytherin common room, nearly everyone had rich parents or family members and so went home for the parties, leaving only her in her year with Draco and Pansy, a couple who were currently dancing a few feet away. Pansy looked so happy with her head on Draco's chest, her eyes staring at him, oblivious to how his eyes were following Rose-marie's every move.

"I'd love to" she half squealed, throwing her arms around my shoulders, something rare to receive from Rose-marie and something I realised she never gave to George. I didn't waste time in wrapping my arms around her waist and swinging her around so her feet left the floor.

She was laughing, as was I, the sound of her voice filling the entire Great hall with such immense joy it was over whelming. It was in that moment, with everyone's eyes on us, and her laugh the only sound in my ears that I realised I was in love with Rose-marie Greengrass, I didn't think I ever wouldn't be.

* * *

For once in this story, Hermione was silent. She didn't seem to have questions, and if she did, she didn't ask them straight away. She just looked at the redheaded man where he sat, arms rested on his legs, hands clasped together, staring solemnly at the floor.

He had smiled before at the memory, her laugh and her beauty, everything about her that night. But then the darkness crept in, shrouding his memories light. He didn't see the bright lights and the icicles, her saw the blood and flashes of spells, he didn't hear her laugh, he heard her final words. It was then that Fred realised what Rose-marie had meant by having one good memory to make the others bearable, but that one night in the great hall wasn't enough to shroud that dreadful night three years later.

"Why didn't you tell her?" Hermione said finally after what felt like hours of silence.

"She said I was just a friend" he replied with a shrug.

"Any girl who wears the colours of her rivalled house, doesn't do it for 'just a friend'" she retorted.

"Yeah, well that's what she told me"

"Did you believe her?"

"At the time, yes. It tore me apart to see her every day, but I never had a chance to speak to her about it. Not with Harry in the tournament, Cedric's death and you know who's return" he breathed out an agitated sigh, fisting his hands in his red hair and holding back a scream, a scream aimed at his younger self for not opening his eyes. "It wasn't until the following Christmas I even knew she liked me at all" he said with a smile, and so he began to continue his story.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please reveiw! I love hearing what you all think! _Especially_ when i introduce my own characters. **

**Do you like Rose-marie? please do feel free to let me know.**

* * *

It was around this time where we had begun learning the patronus charm from Harry. It was a long a daunting process for the most of us, those who didn't have the happiest memories in the world, me and George however learnt very quickly. They say every patronus is unique to the wizard who conjured it, and this much was true, where Georges patronus was an eagle, brave, strong and ambitious, mine was a fox, cheeky, sly and mischievous. It really showed how different we were at heart.

Rose-marie, being a Slytherin, wasn't able to come to any of our DA meetings, however badly she wanted to. Instead she would help the rest of us sneak around. She'd stay in the bathrooms and do whatever she could to convince Pansy or any other girls on the Inquisitorial Squad that no one was in the bathroom hiding, and she always alerted me when Umbridge was on the prowl. Turns out she hated Umbridge's reign just as much as every one else did. Yet no one, not even you, Hermione, knew who she was or what she was doing.

She did however, still want to learn. Every night after one of our meetings, Rose-marie and I would sneak up to the room of requirement while the rest of the school slept, pick our room and disappear into it. This then became a weekly occurrence, just the two of us, learning how to defend ourselves.

"So what are we learning today?" she beamed at me once we were safely inside the room, the door locked. It was late, the stars shinning through the windows like jewels, Rose-marie always loved to watch the stars, that why Astronomy was her favourite subject besides Defence against the Dark Arts, a passion we both shared.

She was stood against the window in her school skirt, grey socks and her white blouse ruffled an un-tucked, the first two buttons undone. For the occasion, she had pulled her long brown hair into a scruffy braid the fell down her left shoulder, stray strands of hair sticking out the sides or framing her face; she was oddly beautiful, in a casual way that only someone who knew her would understand.

"A Patronus Charm" I told her, trying to imitate the mature and dignified tone taken by so many teachers at this school. She giggled in response.

"And what does it do" She already had her cherry wood wand in her hand; a wand I now knew contained a single unicorn hair. Rose-marie had told me once how she'd a seen a unicorn in the Malfoy orchard as a child and how she was almost close enough to touch it until Malfoy had come storming out, all guns blazing and scared the poor creature away. She'd never seen one since.

"It protects against nasty things like dementors" I replied, wiggling my fingers towards her in a way often acquainted with ghosts. She batted my hands away with a slight laugh before steadying her face into a mask of seriousness.

"Then tech me, _sir._" She said with a mocking bow. it was brilliant to see her so alive, whenever else i saw her she was so...down. Her shoulders slumped, her steps dragging, it had only been for the past two or three weeks, but still. something wasn't right, something was bothering Rose-marie and if i could just know what it was.

"Well, to produce a patronus, you need to think an incredibly happy memory, the happiest you've every been." Her face seemed to scrunch up in thought, her mind ticking away every memory she'd ever felt. "Can you do that?" she nodded. "Now, allow it to fill you up, and when you're ready, you say the incantation." I finished with a smile, my arms crossed behind my back, a small habit I'd caught from teaching.

"And the incantation is?" she said with a droning voice, like I'd missed the most important part, which in her defence, I had.

"Oh, right, erm" I said trying to compose myself, stop my self turning red In front of her the way I did when we met. I was 17 years old, now wasn't the time to be blushing in front of a girl you'd loved for two years. She smirked cockily at me which was my indication that I was blushing, quite badly too. "Expecto Patronum" I said, trying to regain any posture I could in my voice. Rose-marie nodded and steadied her self, pointing her wand into thin air, her blue eyes concentrating on something that wasn't there.

"Expecto Patronum!" she shouted, swishing her wand through the air, a few, feeble wisps of silver vapour sputtering from the wands tip. She lowered the wand dejectedly, her shoulders slightly slumped. "It didn't work, did it?" she asked.

"No" I said plainly "No it did not" she seemed to slump even further, her head landing in her hands. "It's only your first go" I said to her placing a hand lightly on her shoulder. I don't know when it was I'd walked towards her, but for some reason I was next to her now, my hand resting on her shoulder as she brought her eyes up to meet mine. "Just try again" she nodded again and continued to try, her eyes fixed and determined.

"Maybe it's the memory you chose, not you" I reassured her after another twenty minutes and three more failed attempts. "What was your memory?"

"Getting my first wand" she replied flatly "It was so exciting! I knew then I was a proper witch, I knew I was going to make my parents proud" she sighed "I guess that wasn't enough"

"Maybe you need something that made you happy, rather than excited?" I posed the offer as a question, and her face screwed up again, her eyes staring into nothing as she thought.

"I think I've got it" she said after a few moments, her eyes landing on mine, a silent dedication flashing through hers. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she swished her wand, the incantation leaving her lips "Expecto Patronum!" she shouted again, this time, to both of our surprises, a large, silver wolf with silky looking fur burst from the wands tip, the entire creature shrouded in silver wisps of smoke-like vapour. It burst around the room, sprinting across walls and windows, its fur beating against a wind that wasn't there, its ear flat against its head.

Rose-marie stared on in wonder at the beautiful creature she had created, her bright eyes alive with hope and joy. I didn't watch the wolf, I watched her. The way her eyes danced like blue fire, shinning in the slowly dimming light of the room.

"I did it!" she shouted, the accomplishment plain in her voice. She leapt across the narrow gap between us, her arms flying around my neck, my arms snaking around her waist as I nuzzled my face into her hair. Her scent was intoxicating, the smell of varying fruits and vanilla intoxicating my senses as her hair tickled my nostrils. I could feel the swish of the wolf prancing around us, the warmth of its silvery tendrils warming the December air inside the room.

She pulled away, her eyes so full of wonder and joy that I couldn't let go, instead I held her, her eyes staring into mine as I tried to gather the thoughts that spewed across the floor the second her body touched mine. It was instinct, nothing but instinct flowing through my veins when I touched my lips to hers, a soft, sweet kiss that spoke of years of holding back. This is what I wanted to do when we danced at the Yule ball last year, something I didn't have the guts to do then.

I pulled away first, looking into those eyes as I let my arms fall to my sides, my body aching from the withdrawal of her body not close to mine.

She was speechless, a sight I never thought I'd see from this girl. A girl who always had something to say, always had some sort of witty, sarcastic comment up her sleeves, but not today. Today she gawped at me like I'd given her the world wrapped in a ribbon and she didn't want it, like she didn't know what to do in return. In a way, that was worse than if she'd said something to me. It showed that she hadn't even noticed how I felt, hadn't paid enough attention to my actions around her, and hadn't taken a single hint. It was like every second we spent alone had meant nothing to her when it meant the world to me.

"Fred" she called at me, but I'd already left the room, searching for someplace to go, somewhere I could be alone. I never even knew how she had sat in that room all night crying into the darkness, a patronus wolf as her only company.

* * *

"You just left her there?" Hermione squealed, clearly outraged by Fred's younger-self's actions.

"What else could I do, 'Mione?" he replied sternly "I was an overly cocky teenage boy who had more or less been shot down by the girl he was in love with. I seem to recall you doing the same when Ron and Lavender started getting cosy" he said with a raised eyebrow, a gesture that just screamed 'hypocrite' at her.

"Okay" she said, calming both herself and the red-headed man. "But how could you not realise then she liked you?" she asked like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I just didn't" he responded, rubbing a hand across his tired face. His pale face had a slight speckling of stubble where he was yet to shave that day, freckles less prominant on his pale skin, but his eyes were brighter than Hermione had seen them in years.

It was clear how this girl affected him, merely telling the story of her, complimenting her memory was enough to through the spark back into his eyes, the mocking and humorous tone back in his voice.

"Tell me the rest" Hermione said sadly, her hand racing towards his, a friendly and familiar gesture that he accepted with a quick, sad smile.

"Okay" he replied and thought back to where he'd left the story. "Here's what happened next"

* * *

"Have you heard from Rose-marie at all?" George asked as he sat down next to me in the Great hall a week after the Patronus incident. I paused, my piece of toast half way towards my mouth.

"No" I replied blandly. I felt horrible for the way I acted towards her, but the thought that she didn't even notice was tearing me apart. Not to feel the same way was fine, I had no problem with that, but not caring was a whole other story, and that's how my stupid, teenage brain saw things. "Not at all."

"Has anyone?" he asked again, pressing the matter into a territory best avoided. "I haven't seen her at any meal recently, none of the teachers have spoken to her but they don't seem fussed either." He was looking at me, I could see from the corner of my eye, but I didn't respond. Instead I ate my toast slowly, the flavour suddenly bland, the bread dry and the jam too sweet. "Do you have any idea where she is?" he asked again.

"No George, I don't" I said, rounding on him like a dog pushed to its breaking point. "Owl her if you're so worried"

"I have owled her" he emphasised "Multiple times and I've heard nothing back"

"Since when did you become so interested anyway" I spat at him, my toast completely abandoned on my plate.

"What's gotten into you Forge?" he asked, dumbfounded. "The two of you were thick as thieves not two weeks ago, the three of us were inseparable." I pushed my hands against my eyes, hoping to erase all memories of that girl as I rubbed the balls of my hands further and further. "What in Merlin's name happened?"

"I kissed her, okay? Are you satisfied" I blurted out at him angrily. He looked taken aback for a second, but as usual, it didn't take him long to compose himself.

"You kissed her?" he echoed and I nodded solemnly in reply. "Okay, that was unexpected. How did she take it?"

"Not well" I drawled back at him. I looked at my twin, expecting to see a knowing look or a scolding one, something to tell me how stupid I'd been, but instead I saw worry. Raw worry etched with fear and panic in George's eyes, so like own. "Gred?" I asked desperately, beginning to panic myself. "Gred, what is it?"

"This isn't good Freddie" he said, not looking at me, but at her vacant spot on the Slytherin table, his eyes blank and afraid. "This isn't good at all."

It was another two days until I saw Rose-marie again. She came walking into the great hall looking like nothing had happened. Her school uniform was intact, her robes present for once which, for Rose-marie was a very rare thing. She sat down, next to a Slytherin girl with black hair and began talking to her like she normally would. Then she just upped and left, not eating or drinking anything, just strode out of the hall.

"Georgie" I said ramming an elbow into my twin's rib.

"Ouch!" he yelped, rounding on me with agitated eyes "Merlin Forge. What was that for" but I cut him off, pointing towards the door just as Rose-marie reached it. "Time to go" he said with a mischievous smile. And he was off after her, piece of toast in hand.

We finally found Rose-marie sat beneath a tree by the black lake, a book open on her lap but her attention focused else where.

"Let's go Freddie" George smiled as he grabbed my arm, trying to drag me over to the girl.

"You go" I said with nod of my head. George gave me a confused and wary look, but shrugged his shoulders and walked towards her anyway. I watched from a safe distance and George approached her, I couldn't see her face, but by the way she threw her shoulders back in the proud way she did when she was trying to be formal and looked straight at him, never looking to see if I was even there. They talked for a while, and then Rose-marie began digging into her satchel that sat pressed against her leg. Whatever she retrieved she then proceeded to give to George.

It didn't take long for George to turn back to me, an exaggerated shrug of the shoulders following him as he walked.

"What did she say?" I pressed as we entered the castle once again. The fact I knew she was a fair distance away had chilled my burning nerves, but knowing she was so close, back at the school and not even bothered by me was enough to put me on edge.

"Family thing apparently, she and Draco both had to go to it" George replied matter-of-factly.

"But he was back last Friday, its Tuesday, which makes three extra days where she's not been here. What's going on with her?" I pressed, trying to gauge a reaction when I knew full well George didn't know.

"I don't know Freddie." He said sympathetically. Sometimes it was a gift to have a twin know exactly what you were feeling and when, but sometimes it was such a burden. He'd known from the start how I'd felt about Rose-marie, and he'd known how much it had pained me when she said I was like a brother to her. Sometimes I wished he didn't know so much. "but what I do know" he said reaching towards his trouser pocket and pulling out a folded piece of parchment "Is our little Rosie's been doing her homework" he unfolded the parchment and wafted it before my eyes, I got a brief glimpse of the word remedy and knew instantly what it was.

"But this means-"I started, only for George to interrupt me.

"This means operation WWW is a go" he said with a cocky smile.

We spent the rest of that week sneaking in and out of Hogwarts in the evening, collecting ingredients from Snape's stores and completing our very first line of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes skiving snack boxes. That was the first time I truly appreciated Rose-marie's talent for these things. She'd always been the brains of our operations, but I never gave it much thought. It was then I decided I would do something for her, something to show her what she meant to me and to George. It was time for something big. Time Weasley Wizard Wheezes got some publicity.

It was a few months after that before our firework display was even planned, let alone ready to go and we'd organised the whole thing to take place the day before her birthday, April 13th. That day also happened to fall on one of your exams, Hermione, and I do apologise for that.

So the prank went perfectly to plan, every one of Umbridge's rules had been knocked off of the wall, every student in the courtyard watching us as we set of firework after firework, the sky exploding into a shower of sparks, varying from all different colours, reds and gold, silvers and greens, blue and yellows, everything was perfect.

It took me a while to see the pair of sparkling blue eyes I had been searching for, only, Rose-marie's eyes weren't sparkling, not like they usually did. I don't know if George noticed, he was too busy waving and blowing kisses to Angelina who caught them in mid air, much to the disappointment of screaming girls.

Rose-marie must of noticed I was staring at her, she looked at me, a lost and longing look in her eyes before she turned and walked away, disappearing into the school to be swallowed up by the students making their way to the fireworks show. I never did see her at school again until that night.

* * *

The night in question was the beginning of her seventh year. It was late October, a few days before Halloween and the air was slowly beginning to chill in Scotland, at the Diagon Alley however, it was still bearable. I'd been owling Rose-marie since the day me a George left, two letters a week, minimum, the same way it's been every summer since my fifth year. Only this time, she didn't reply. Instead the Weasley's owl returned empty handed, nothing attacked to its leg. This was a sign to me, maybe she wasn't replying to my letters, but she at least had to be reading them. That or the Malfoy's were stealing her mail.

The night before Halloween, I was sitting in the living room of mine and George's flat, not doing anything really, just resting my eyes after a busy days work in the shop, the shop she had supported. So there I was, eyes shut head back, window open to let in a cool breeze. That's how I was when I felt something bombard into my stomach.

Opening my eyes I caught sight of a small brown bundle sat on my lap. It wasn't as small as Ron's owl, Pig, but it sure as Merlin wasn't as big as Hedwig. It bounded onto the table, hopping up and down like and excited child before presenting me its leg.

I graciously took the letter attached to its leg and then the tiny thing was out the window before I could even pay it for the letter. Unrolling the parchment, I was hit with a waft of something fruity, something tinged with the scent of vanilla.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing Gred?" I shouted through the walls to where George was brewing some strange concoction in the kitchen.

"Love potions" was his only reply, and it was the only reply I needed. Of course I'd smell her, who else or what else, could I have possibly smelt. With a sigh of longing, I unrolled the parchment. The paper was pristine, not an ink splodge or spelling mistake anywhere. The handwriting was soft, small and cursive, clearly a females handwriting. But it was the signature that caught my eye first.

_With regret,_

_Rose-marie Greengrass._

It was very safe to say I was confused. Not only had I not recognised her handwriting the second I saw it, but I had no idea why she could possibly have regret. Granted I hadn't seen her since April, and even then it wasn't really a warm encounter, and I hadn't even spoken to her since I taught her the patronus, but we'd been so busy at teh shop i hadnt even had a chance. Maybe I just thought I knew more about this girl than I really did. Either way, I read the letter she'd sent as efficiently as I could, not missing out a single word she may have written.

_Dear Fred, _

_I understand how mad at me you must be, and I understand why we haven't spoken since last Christmas. Funny how everything happens with us near Christmas isn't it? Our first date, the Yule ball, our first kiss. _

_I know I didn't react the way you intended, or the way you had wished, but you must understand I can't see you that way, I simply cant. _

_I know this cant be easy for you to hear, but you are far better off without me. You and George can handle yourselves just fine together; you don't need me messing with your work. I only held you back anyway. _

_I seem to have gone off on a tangent here, funny how scrambled you make my mind sometimes, but what else can I do?_

_My main purpose of this letter is to ask you not to write to me again. I'm no good for you Fred, you need a sweet girl, who understands your humour and will stand by you, not keep secrets. A Gryffindor princess who can treat you how you deserve. I'm not that girl. There's so much I wish to tell you Fred, so much I wish you could know, but now is not the time. If a time does come where you do find out the truth, I want you to remember something, and remember it always; none of this was a choice for me. _

_Can you do that Fred? Promise me something without words or knowledge; I have faith that even you are willing to take such a plunge. Just don't think poorly of me Fred, I don't know what I would do if I ever saw the disappointment in your face. _

_I'm glad the shop is a success, and I'm thrilled that I could have been a part of it, but pranking is no place for a Slytherin girl. And no matter what I dream, what I wish, or what I see in the mirror, a Slytherin girl is all I'll ever be. I don't doubt if I was a Gryffindor, the way I had wished, none of this would have happened. Maybe I would be able to see you that way; maybe you wouldn't see me at all._

_ I never knew how frustrating it could get to picture a life so perfect and so different from your own, to picture what you can never have. _

_I should really sum this up now, I've bored you for long enough. Goodbye Frederick Weasley, my Gryffindor prince, I hope you have a wonderful life filled with joy and laughter and love, I hope you can find your happiness the same way George has found his in Angelina, and above all, I want you to remember the promise, and to remember something else._

_I didn't want this; I never wanted it, any of it. _

_With regret,_

_Rose-marie Greengrass. _

"George!" I shouted from where I sat on the sofa, my hands clutching her letter so tight, the knuckles had turned white. It took another minute for George to emerge from the kitchen, spoon in hand, a white apron stained with Merlin-knows-what around his waist, and gave me a confused, slightly concerned glance.

"Wassup, Forge?" he asked, holding the spoon up and looking oddly like the women featured on the front of muggle cookbooks, but now wasn't the time to laugh.

"I'm going to Hogwarts" I said as I stood, already shimmying on my jacket and reaching for my wand.

"Can I ask why" George enquired, still not moving the spoon from where it hovered.

"I need to see her" I blurted out, ready to apparate, just a soon as George was finished questioning I'd leave.

"How do you intend to find her, let alone speak to her?" he enquired, placing the spoon on the kitchen counter where it proceeded to smoke, giving off the scent of rotting fruit.

"Like this" I said, my voice half choked by the unshed tears and half growl from the anger. How could she? Not a word from her since December and this is what I get. Nearly a whole year with no explanation, no chance for reconcile, nothing, and then BAM, I'm struck with this letter like lightening. I flicked my wrist, speaking the incantation "Expecto Patronum" and watched with vague interest as the silver fox shot from the tip of my wand, shrouded in the silvery mist and darted out of the open window and into the night.

"Can I ask what this is about?" George asked, the concern gone, but the interest still very visible on his face.

"Explain later" I replied and before he could even ask anymore, or wish me luck, or whatever it is he would have done, I was sucked into the swirling storm of apparation and on route to Hogsmede.

* * *

Hermione stared dumbfounded at the man next to her.

"You apparated to the school to see her?" she asked her mouth still hanging open slightly. He nodded. "And that letter, you've-"

"Still got it?" he cut her off "yes I do" and with that word, Fred disappeared into his room, emerging a few seconds later clutching a folded piece of parchment in his hands. Reluctantly, he handed the page to Hermione, watching like a hawk as she tentatively held the paper, reading over the letter.

"It must of really hurt her to write this" Hermione said, passing the page, even yellower than ordinary parchment back to its owner.

"What makes you say that?" he asked gingerly wiping his finger across her signature in an attempt to feel closer to her in some way, to feel like this wasn't one of her last letters to be sent, but one in a long line of letter yet to come.

"Where she signed her name, look" Hermione said pointing to the paper. She was currently perched awkwardly on her knees, trying to find good balance on the soft sofa in order to point to the paper in the red heads hands. "That splodge there, its whiter than the rest, this bit here" Fred strained his eyes trying to get as close a look to the splodge as he could "It's a tear stain. She cried writing this for you, Fred"

"I never noticed that" he said, staring at the paper like he was reading it for the first time, all the words new to him and fresh in his mind. "How did I never notice that?" he asked, more to himself, but the old Hermione was showing through and she couldn't help but answer.

"You must never have cried writing a letter before" she said with a shrug. Now Fred saw the one splodge, he saw them all. Dozens of them lined the page, some her, some his, and each as memorable to him as the last. How hard was it for her to write this? Did she plan it out? How man drafts did it take to get the message spot on?

"And you have?" Fred asked dragging his eyes reluctantly from the letter to look at the brunette as she fell back onto the sofa, the old furniture squeaking under even her slight weight.

"We're hearing your story, not mine" she said defiantly.

"Yes we are" he said with a smile. He sat next to her once again letting her head fall to rest on his shoulder "so I apparated to Hogsmede…"


	6. Chapter 6

**Woo! An update!**

**Please reveiw and let me know if you think this story is any good, I'm having mixed feelings myself. **

* * *

The walk to Hogwarts seemed a lot faster and shorter when I had someone to walk with and less nerves of anger and just plain nervousness jostling your system to every sound. I walked thought the gates, relieved no alarm went off or anything like that and headed for the forest. It was dark out already, which made it a lot easier to catch the glittering shimmer of a patronus as it lit up the area.

I could see Rose-marie where she'd perched herself on a rock, my silver fox pacing in front of her, the way I had told it to. She sat quietly, a cigarette between her lips, her eyes looking dark and tired above the orange glow and the silver light. It was silent in the forest now; the only sound was my own feet crunching the earth and the gentle breath of smoke that Rose-marie would let out every now and then.

I decided it would be a good idea to let Rose-marie finish her cigarette before I emerged; they always seemed to calm her down. We were deep in the forest, near a small pond that Rose-marie traced her fingers across. It was silent now I'd stopped moving, that was until she started to sing. It was a muggle song, nothing I'd ever heard before, but it was a sad song, filled with misunderstanding and longing, the very feelings that were coursing through me this second.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

"Rose-marie" she started at the sound of anyone's voice, dropping her glowing cigarette onto the forest floor, her wand raised as the silver fox bounded towards me like a loyal pet.

"Lumos" she said and the tip of her wand illuminated our faces. I was only about four feet away from her, but the distance felt too big, far too big. I'd almost forgotten my anger towards her, just seeing her face, even pale than usual, bruise-like bags under her eyes, and yet she looked more beautiful than ever. "What are you doing here?" she said, but she didn't sound angry, she sounded shocked and slightly sad, like she'd seen a dog she'd had to send away.

"I got your letter" I said, holding the parchment up so she could see it. Her eyes widened in what I would usually find a comical way, but the anger was back. "How could you do that Rose-marie" I asked, trying to keep the choking from my voice "How could you just cast us aside, cast me aside, like I was nothing. Why would you lock yourself away from us?"

"You know I don't think you're nothing" she half shouted "I explained why you were better off without me!"

"No you didn't!" now I was shouting too "You told me I was better without you, you never said why. And I'm asking why, tell me Rosie, please, because I'm so lost right now."

"Fred" she whispered. Her arms were crossed over her chest, it was then I noticed she was wearing her robe. I'd only seen her three times since Christmas last year, each time she was wearing her robe. Maybe it was nothing, but I knew how much Rose-marie hated her robe. "You called me Rosie" she said quietly, her voice sad and lost. "It's been so long since you called me that."

"Just tell me, please." I begged, walking towards her, reaching for her, but she flinched away. "Let me help you" I added and she looked away, not at me, but at the water, our reflections shimmering slightly in the wand light.

"Do you know what I though about?" she said, her voice drifting to another time "when I made my first patronus, do you know what my memory was?" she asked and she looked at me now, watching as I shook my head. "The Yule ball" she said like it was obvious "I thought of how you called me beautiful, and how you held my hand and how we danced all night, and how you swung me in your arms and I felt like we were the only people in the world. I though we were going to kiss that night." She said sadly, her big blue eyes shinning from unshed tears.

I looked at her then, her sad face with the trusting eyes, now closed off, I couldn't tell what she was feeling. "and now that memory is poisoned by the look on your face when you did kiss me" she spat out "how repulsed you were from kissing a Slytherin girl, how disgusted you looked when you walked away, and then you wouldn't even look at me after that, let alone speak to me. And then you left, you and George, you left me alone, when I needed you the most you weren't there!" she was letting tears fall freely down her face now, each one glistening like a diamond in the wands light. "So don't come out here, all guns blazing, and ask how I could cast you aside!" she wiped at her face frantically, pushing her hair behind her ears while she wiped all the tears away "how could you leave me behind?"

"Rose-marie, that's not why we-" I started but she cut me off.

"Save it" she said holding up a dismissive hand. "All that matters is that when I needed you, you weren't there. I spent Christmas in hell that year, and now it's poisoned any good memory of Christmas I've ever had, and all because you weren't there when I needed you.

"Please, let me make it up to you" I said, not aware the words were on my lips until after they'd left.

"And how do you intend to do that?" she spat back at me, the venom in her words making me wince.

"Spend Christmas with me this year, me and my family. Let me give you a Christmas memory that outshines all the others." I said, excited already by the sheer thought of spending another Christmas with Rose-marie and showing her off to my family.

"Do you think I'm mad" she said, looking at me like I was insane, or sprouting antlers, or kissing the giant squid right in front of her.

"Just think about it" I said back to her, beginning to walk away. I knew that any minute now, prefects would search the forest with a teacher, checking for any students, and I wasn't even allowed on the premises. "Just promise me you'll think about it" she gave me a slight nod before turning away and running back towards the school, back to her home. Little did I know, I'd just given her the greatest Christmas she could ever have wished for.

* * *

"Did you make it up to her?" Hermione asked her eyes bright with the promise of answers.

"You'll have to let me finish the story" he answered with a slight, low chuckle.

"What are the chances" she said, "the one year I spend Christmas at home is the year you bring a girl home" she fell back against the Sofa dramatically, her head hitting the headrest fairly hard, but she didn't even wince.

"That's the way of the world 'Mione" he replied, rubbing his hand through her unruly curls that had broken free from their bond not too long ago.

"Tell me about Christmas" she said, resting her head on her hands and looking up him with her big, chocolate eyes. And tell her about Christmas he did.

* * *

It was about 8 o'clock Christmas morning and George and I were back in our old room, echoes of days long past of the two of us sat around a cauldron, Weasley Wizard Wheeze nothing but a dream. Both of us were lying on our backs, staring at the ceiling, a large charred stain evidence of previous years work. Christmas was a lot different now there was a war brewing, no one seemed to want to wake up early and now Ginny had grown out of being a little girl who liked to wake up at the crack of dawn we didn't feel the urge to get up at all

"So you really asked her?" George asked me for the seventh time that morning.

"Yes" I grumbled as a reply. Just because I was awake did not, by any means, mean I was willing for this conversation. "And before you ask, no, I don't know if she's going to show up" I replied again before he had the chance to ask.

"Ginny!" our mum's voice called up the stairs "Boys! Time you were up to help get everything ready" I could hear everyone else in the house moving, Ginny, one floor below had practically fallen out of bed and from the sounds of it Ron and Harry were still asleep as well.

"We should probably get up Forge" George said from his bed with a smile in his voice.

"Yeah we probably should Gred" I replied, smiling the same mischievous smile that George and I shared.

I didn't arrive downstairs until one, shortly followed by George, both of us wearing jeans and a button down shirt. His was red and mine was green. Appropriate, not only because they were Christmas colours, but since he loved a Gryffindor and I loved a Slytherin, neither one of us mentioned it, but I knew he thought it.

"Fred can you grab those plates" mum said pointing to the dresser behind the two of us.

"I'm not Fred..." I protested

"...I am" George then followed. "Honestly woman…"

"….You call yourself our mother" I finished for him.

"I'm sorry George, can you just grab those plates" she apologised with her sweet, motherly smile.

"Just kidding, I am Fred" I said as I turned toward the dresser that sat in the fireplace in our living room. I could here her scolding George for tricking her and Ron for swearing and all in all it felt like a normal Christmas at the Weasley's. Grabbing enough plates to feed every student at Hogwarts, I turned to walk back into the kitchen. That was until the fireplace burst into a flurry of emerald flames.

"Merry Christmas, Fred" Lupin addressed as he stepped out of the fire, a solemn, plain looking Tonk's soon followed after. It was strange to be spending this Christmas without Sirius, his death hit us all hard, but now wasn't the time to dwell, I'm sure mum would have a good cry about it later and we'd all raise our glasses to the second marauder lost.

Mum welcomed them both with open arms of course, before giving Tonk's a sympathetic look. It was then I heard the fireplace roar once again.

"Who's that now?" mum said, craning her neck to see into the living room. George and I shared a look of pure anticipation before I volunteered to go and greet them. Mum gave me a loving smile and said something along the lines of 'my boy, such a gentleman' but I was already out of the room.

When I entered the room I was greeted by a sight that made my breath catch. Stood before me was the very girl I'd hoped to see, and the same girl didn't think was coming. Rose-marie was examining each item of furniture and every knickknack she could see with keen interest, a warm, longing smile crossing her face as she examined the family clock. She had a long blue dress on that fell to her knees beneath a long black military jacket that belted at the waist. Her hair was wrapped up in a scruffy looking bun that still managed to seem neat and sophisticated instead of cascading down her shoulders in its luscious chocolate waves. A few tendrils did however fall to frame her sweet, soft face.

"You came then?" I said when I realised how interested with all the bits and bobs lying around. She started slightly but smiled at me lightly all the same.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world" she replied and in that moment, I swore to anyone who listened that me and her were going to be okay, there was nothing life could throw that could possibly stop us now.

"Would you like to come meet everyone" I said, indicating with my head towards the kitchen. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, my mother came bustling into the living room, apron still around her waist.

"Who is it dear?" she asked upon entering the room. Once her eyes fell on Rose-marie, standing shyly in front of the fireplace, her eyes lit up with excitement. "Fred's bought a girl!" she half shouted, drawing the attention of every one in the other room.

"Bloody hell" Ron said when he walked in "he has as well, Harry come see this"

"What's your name, dear" my mother asked, walking up to Rose-marie and grabbing her by the hand.

"Rose-marie" she replied shyly, not sure how to accommodate the overly friendly nature of my mother.

"That's a lovely name" she said, slowly pushing Rose-marie towards and empty seat. "Just wait here dear, we're going to do presents now" my mother half squealed before bounding out of the room. "Fred dear, keep her company." I nodded, I'd of stayed by her side anyway, but hearing my mother order me to doo so made it feel obligatory, like I had nothing other choice. It was an excuse to stay with her, one I wasn't going to relinquish so easily.

That afternoon passed by surprising quickly. Presents were shared between everyone, with the exception of Rose-marie who no one knew was coming. I'd received a red jumper from mum with a large 'F' on the front that fit like a glove, George receiving the same in green, a new cauldron from Harry, sweets from Honeyduke's from Ron, and a rather fetching scarf from Ginny.

We'd eaten dinner with the table filled with gossip, Rose-marie making up for the lack of Sirius, not by her contribution, but purely by being there we had no reason to see an empty chair, to feel the loss that surged through us every time we thought about it.

Rose-marie had a very in-depth and no doubt girly conversation with Ginny, both girls smiling widely and giggling, something I haven't seen Rose-marie do in such a long time. Mum was clearly taken by her, gushing like a love sick teenager whenever Rose-marie complimented her cooking, home, family or choice of clothing. It was fair to say Rose-marie would forever be welcomed at the Weasley table.

When darkness fell we all contributed to the laborious task or clearing the table away. I never knew why, but when ever Christmas arrived, mum seemed to feel like she was cooking for England, providing enough food to put the house elves at Hogwarts out of business. Rose-marie was helping mum wipe the table down while me and George charmed plates and dished, pots and pans to clean themselves in the small kitchen sink.

It was two hours later before everything was clean, tidy and back where it should be. It was around this time of night that all the Weasley's (and Harry) retired to the living room on Christmas night and sat cosily around the fire as we told stories long into the night with a drink of mums mulled wine for the adults, juice or other drinks for the younger occupants. Some of the stories had already been heard hundred of times, like the time Harry had freed Dobby the house elf. Others were fresh and new, but we all gushed and laughed in the right places like the story was bright and shiny and new again. I missed this tradition however, since I spent that part of the night looking for a certain brunette with eyes as bright as a summer's sky.

When I finally found Rose-marie, she was sat on the log me and George had placed by the pond, hidden beneath the shade of the large willow tree our garden held. The same tree George and I would climb in order to drop dungbombs and firecrackers on Percy during his daytime reading.

"So" I said from behind her, but she didn't jump like she usually did, just sat staring at her reflection in the water, the surface lit by the abnormally bright Christmas lights that hung from the willow tree's branches. From some angles her pale face looked red, in other blue and in some a sickly green. "Have I made it up to you?" I asked taking a seat on the log beside her. Her hands were peeking out from beneath the cuffs of her dress, her skin a deathly white shade like freshly fallen snow.

"You'd already made it up to me by inviting me" she said, her eyes seeking mine in the darkness. She looked sadder than usual, her eyes shadowed and tired as she looked at me, her face bearing the weight of a years worth of loneliness. "I'd only have spent it avoiding Draco and Pansy"

"Then why do you look so sad?" I enquired, leaning forward to try invading her line of vision as she looked once more towards the lake.

"Because it hasn't changed anything" she said solemnly "All I said, that whole letter, it's still true" her eyes were hidden from my sight, even though I was looking at her face, the darkness stretched too far for me to even glimpse the radiance of her blue eyes. "You're better without me"

"You don't know that" I replied, reaching towards the arm closest to me, but she flinched away, clutching the limb to her chest like it was made of glass and I was a clumsy oaf who broke all he touched.

"But I do" she said, and I could see the sparkling in her eyes, the shimmer that looked like diamonds falling down the curve of her cheek. It took me a while to see she was crying.

"Rosie, please" I said, and she closed her eyes, like she was trying to fight back a new wave of tears from spewing over the sides, letting everything in her calm composure crumble. Silent tears she could handle, she could pass them off, but once the sobs came, they didn't go so easily. "Tell me what's been bothering you."

"I want to" She said, her eyes staring into mine. I couldn't see them all that well due to the fact the lights were above us, leaving them shadowed by her thick black lashes lined with the remnants of tears that shone like jewels of red, green and blue. "You know I want to" and I knew she did, everything in her letter had proved how much she wanted me to know, to let me help her through all her agony. "But how can I know you've kept the promise"

"Rose-marie" I said, grabbing hold of her hand before she could react, and clutching it, fragile and freezing between both of mine. "I'll never break that promise. There's nothing on this earth that could make me think anything different from what I do now"

"I can think of one thing" she said with a sad, self depreciating laugh, the kind that split my heart, one side reaching for her and the other doing it's best to keep me alive, letting its brother go. "Remember when I was gone for a few days, taken home for family matters" she said, her hand shaking slightly in my grasp. "I was called back, me and Draco, by Lucius. We didn't have a choice but to go. They made a big deal about me turning 16, like it was the age a wizard was legal, but that wasn't for another year. That's when I saw him, sat in the dinning room of Malfoy manner" her whole body was shaking wracked every few seconds by an onslaught of shivers, her voice wavering and cracking. "Lord Voldemort" she breathed out, tears streaming down her face at such a rate it was impossible to distinguish one from the next as they sloped down her cheeks.

"He was there, at your home" I said, my whole body tensed at the thought of her being within a mile of such a monster, a creature with nothing human left to keep him whole.

"That place is not my home" she spat angrily. "He welcomed me, said how pleased he was to meet me. I tried to leave, but the whole room was filled with death eaters, everywhere I looked, even Narcissa was one" the thought was horrific, Rose-marie, not even turned 16, trapped in a room with the Dark Lord, no way to escape and no other choice. How could I have been so selfish, how could I have left her there, why didn't I help her. "He told me too join him" she blurted out, retracting her hand from mine, and I let her. "Said how bright a witch a was, a proud addition to his circle" She buried her face in her hands sobbing like a child into the palms of her hands.

"Did you?" I managed to croak out, even though my throat had gone dry, my brain was slowly disconnecting it's self from everything, all common sense shutting down as an anger began to roar through my veins like fire.

"I said no, and I tried to run, I really tried" she said, her yes pleading with me to believe her, and something about the darkness hidden inside those usually shimmering orbs, even in the darkness beneath the fairy lights, or the way she clutched at my sleeves like a life line, how could I not trust her.

"He tortured me." My whole bodied tensed and she must have felt it, since she rubbed soothing patterns on the backs of my hand with her thumb, a simple, familiar gesture that loosened the knots, but the images kept playing. Rose-marie's body writhing on the floor, her screams echoing through the rooms, met with nothing but laughs and smiles as she bled out slowly onto the Malfoy's expensive floor. "It continued until I finally passed out, I don't know how long it was, I couldn't even remember who I was when I first came round, let alone what had happened to me. Then I saw it" she said, and she released me, my skin tensing without the soothing, calming sensation of her skin touching mine as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Saw what?" I asked, but she shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut as if trying to block the images out, block the world out. To block me out. "Rosie?" is said "look at me" reluctantly, she turned her head towards mine, her eyes opened and glistening with tears yet to fall. I cupped her cheek in my hand, the chill of her frozen skin seeping into my hand, chilling the blood in my veins. "Tell me what you saw"

"It was the mark, Fred" she said quietly, her voice a choked, agonised sob. "His mark" I didn't realise my hand had dropped to my side, hadn't felt when she reached for my hand. My mind was working at a mile a minute, piecing the picture together. Why Rose-marie had looked so ill when she returned, the sudden presence of her school robe, her flinching away from the slightest touch.

"Prove it" I said bitterly, spitting the words at her.

"What?" she replied, dumbfounded by the disbelief and anger she heard in my voice.

"It can't be true" I said as I grabbed her arm, pulling the material of the sleeve up before she could protest. She gasped when her arm was revealed and I back away so fast, like the mark was spitting acid, I almost fell off the log before standing up fully, my face a mask of utter horror.

"Fred, please" she begged, tugging her sleeve down furiously as more tears fell down her pale cheeks. "You know id dint want this" she pleaded "I never wanted any of it; I didn't even know I had it. Please believe me!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" I shouted back, her face taken aback for a moment.

"Because you weren't there!" she shouted back. She stood up too so as to size up to me, a challenge to her since she was a good head shorter than me, but the fury in her eyes, the longing and the betrayal, it was almost enough to silence me, almost.

"You still could have told me!" I argued, the guilt of knowing what had happened, knowing I could have saved her from this. Of course she didn't want this, who in their right mind would? Then again, who could possible be merciless enough to torture a 15 year old and mark her as your own while she wasn't even conscious. Who knew what other foul, repulsive things the did to her, and I did nothing to prevent it.

"And said what?" she shouted back at me, her hands balled into fists at her sides. "Help me Fred, Mummy and Daddy are making me do what I don't want to do" she squealed in a mock child tone, her voice nasally and whiny. "Does that honestly sound like me at all?"

"How should I know?" I retorted, the anger burning through me. "You never tell me anything! I know nothing about you Rose-marie, you keep shutting me out!" and it was true, she could had owled me, told me everything that was happening, at least let us know the Malfoy's were deatheaters or that Voldemort was visiting her home while she was still in school.

"And why do you think I did that? Why do you think I shut you out?" she screamed, "Are you honestly that dense and naïve!"

"Probably because you don't want to be near me anymore, you're stupid Slytherin, pureblood pride is finally making you realise how un-worthy us filthy blood-traitors are!" I shouted back. I didn't mean what I said, of course I didn't, but what else is there to say. When you're angry any words will slip out unnoticed, and once there out there, there's no getting them back. It was like throwing a message in a bottle out to sea, anyone could read it. Rose-marie looked like she'd been slapped for a second, her face shocked and horrified, and then the anger came back.

"It's because I love you, you blithering idiot!" she screamed. It took a moment for her to realise what it was she'd said, but the second the penny dropped she looked, not only horrified, but terrified as well, like she'd just told her biggest secret to the last person who she wanted to find out, which is likely to be what had happened.

But it didn't take me a moment, I knew what she'd said the second she'd said it. Too long I'd dreamed of her saying those words, of telling me how she felt, and each time I'd declared I loved her back and we'd smile and hug and walk into the sunset, but that was a dream. This was far from what my dreams had been. In dreams, there are no lies, no deception, no secret or years without a single word passing between us.

This was reality, and the bitterest truth always showed through the sweetest of lies.

I didn't know when it was I walked towards Rose-marie, nor did I know when I'd enveloped her in my arms. All I knew was my lips were against hers, the sweet taste of fruit breaking through the flavour of cigarette smoke as her lips moved against mine, she must have just finished one before I found her. They weren't shy, or hesitant, they were strong and confident, like someone who'd had years of practice, but now wasn't time to dwell on who else she had kissed. All that mattered was now.

I could feel everything; hear everything as she wound her slim fingers through my hair, pulling my face even closer to hers. One hand was cupping her cheek, holding her face like it might disappear while my free arm snaked around her waist, holding her body against mine. I became suddenly conscious of the rather large red jumper I was sporting in that moment with the giant 'F' knitted into the front. Not only that, but I was suddenly aware of the fact all she was wearing was the dress she'd arrived it, no coat, no hat, she wasn't even wearing any shoes.

"Aren't you cold" I said once we'd pulled apart to breath, our foreheads resting against each others, feeling the smoky tang of her breathing on my face, her breaths fluttering the choppy locks of my hair.

"Freezing" she replied, her body shivering slightly in my arms as I clutched her slim frame to mine, letting my body heat surge through me into her.

"Do you want to go inside?" I asked, my breaths still uneven, my mind reeling and my body not yet willing to let her go, not again.

"I want to go to bed" she said suggestively, her bright blue eyes staring into mine. I expected to see a smile there, a hidden joke, but I saw nothing but seriousness in those swirling deaths. I smiled down at her, pulling my jumper up and over my head before tugging it down gently to rest on her shoulders. It was comical really. The jumper was made with me in mind, my tall, beaters build, not her slim one. The jumper was hanging down over her bum, her hands not even making it out of the sleeves and the neck hold sloping to one side, falling over her shoulder to show the dress underneath.

"My, my Miss Greengrass" I said, looking over her while trying to withhold my laugh "Are you trying to seduce me?" I asked mockingly. Something flared in her eyes, a spark that shone beneath the fairy lights, lighting her eyes up red. She stalked slowly towards me, like a lion hunting its prey.

"Oh, Freddie" she said, wrapping her arms around my neck, mine instinctively going to her waist. She went up to her tip toes, her mouth brushing agonisingly against my earlobe. "I've already succeeded" she whispered, the breath of each syllable fluttering against my neck and hairline like a feather-light kiss.

I don't wish to go into details of this night, some things are best kept private, but it doesn't take a genius to know what happened, nor would it take one to know it happened again. But none of that mattered, all that mattered was that she was there, in the circle of my arms that night, her head against my chest, her breathing soft and slow, and I knew then, everything was going to be alright.

"Morning Freddie" was the first thing I heard once my eyes fluttered open. It was late morning, _11:14 _according to my alarm clock, which was far too early to be awake. I rolled onto my side a caught sight of Rose-marie sat on my windowsill. She was wearing nothing but one of my old button down shirts, her long, milky white legs against the opposite wall from the one her back was against. The window was open, letting in bursts of frozen air though the slight gap Rose-marie had her arm out of.

I opened my mouth to question why it was her arm was outside of the window, which was until she brought a lit cigarette to her lips, puffing delicately on the strange, muggle drug before puffing the smoke out in rings, some of them then turning into birds and fluttering around the room before dispersing into nothing.

"Why are you sat on the windowsill?" I finally asked my voice husky and groggy from my night - or lack of - sleep. The sky was white behind Rose-marie, her hair flowing messily down her shoulders to her mid back.

"I didn't think your mother would appreciate someone smoking in your room" she said, taking another drag of the still alien device.

"This rooms seen worse" i replied, inclining my head towards the ceiling where a large, unidentified stain sat "Why exactly do you smoke?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes vigorously with the backs of my hands. I didn't even realise I didn't have a shirt on until the cold wind lapped up against my bare chest.

"I saw a muggle girl doing it once" she said with a shrug "so I thought I'd give it a go." She smiled lightly, her blue eyes shimming. I noticed how she had the sleeves of the shirt rolled down, the cuffs undone, hiding her arm and the horrific blemish on her flawless skin from sight. "And two years later, I'm in no rush to stop" she said with a shrug. She snuffed out the cigarette on the windowsill, leaving it there while she walked over to join me on the bed.

"What do you want to do today then?" I asked her once she was wrapped up again in my arms, my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her fruity, vanilla scent.

"Nothing" she replied, "nothing at all" And that's exactly what we did, and it also what we did for many days after that. In fact, most of the time me and Rose-marie spent together was comprised of us laying together, not a care in the world, just feeling time go by. It was perfect for us; to lie together, lie to ourselves, pretend we were alone in the world, that there was no war brewing around us. That lie was quashed very quickly indeed.

* * *

"Please tell me that's the end" Hermione said, her head resting against Fred's shoulder.

"Why?" Fred enquired "Is my story boring you, 'Mione?" he asked cheekily, feigning hurt.

"Not at all" she replied, her head not moving from the red-heads shoulder "But I just want to hear one story that ends with a happily ever after" she said, and Fred swore he could hear her sniffling as she spoke.

"I guess the bitter truth is, there are none" Fred said with a shrug.

"George?" she countered, pushing herself up to look into his sad blue eyes. How long had they been that sad? How long had she not noticed.

"Fine." He said with an eye roll. "Now then, 'Mione. You have a choice here." She raised her eyebrow at him, clearly dubious to whatever scheme he had up his sleeve. "I can give you the story with a happily ever after, a sugar coating so sweet it'll give you cavities" Hermione giggled at this, both of her parents having been dentists before she was force to wipe their minds, giving them a whole new life, a life without a daughter. She had tried to reverse it of course, but there was some magic not even the brightest witch of her age could counteract. "Or you can have the hard, bitter truth" he said, his tone infused with such seriousness it made Hermione nervous.

"Truth" she said after a moment thought, and she rested her head back against his shoulder, listening to the deep, steady breaths and the aching beat of his heart. "Give me the truth"

"On your head be it" Fred said with a sigh before he continued.


	7. Chapter 7

**So please let me know what you think of this story, I llove hearing you veiws!**

**Reveiw!**

* * *

Now would be a good time to mention that Rose-marie had taken on the dangerous, and in my opinion, suicidal mission of being our spy. She attended meetings for both sides, listened carefully to Voldemort's plans and reported back. It was her who told us of his name being taboo, and she who warned us of the onslaught we might have to face the night we moved Harry to the burrow.

She wanted to do more of course, she wanted to fight, but no matter how much we all trusted her, and believe me everyone did, even with the mark, it was too risky. Her being a spy was enough. I'd lay awake most mornings at the burrow, greeted by a patient, silver wolf sat at the foot of my bed, the silver wisps of smoke fluttering around it. Every message it relayed was important as the last and though I never replied, I knew she understood.

We had tried to spend time together since that Christmas, me not wanting to hear George go on about Angelina all the time and her wanting to be as far from the Malfoy manor as possible, but whatever time we had was always pitifully short. It was hard to let it all go once she headed home, telling her parents some crack-pot story only Rose-marie could make believable. The only time we really spent together was on Bill and Fleur's wedding.

I didn't know what it was she had told her parents this time, or how in Merlin's name that they fell for it, but here she was, mid-afternoon on the day of the wedding, standing at the end of the burrow's driveway. She wore a strapless blue dress made of what looked like reflective material and fell to her mid thigh. There was a black ribbon tied around her waist in a bow, and a layer of floral black lace falling from her waist to her mid thigh, the blue material of the dress showing through it. Her brown wavy hair was pulled into a messy bun, a few, curling tendrils framing her face and a small bundle of blue flowers woven through her chocolate hair.

"Rose-marie, you look-" I began, only to be rudely cut of by Rose-marie's dismissive hand. It didn't go unnoticed how she had wrapped a bandage around her arm for this occasion. No one, as of yet, knew how to remove the dark mark from someone's arm once it was placed there, which meant, for the time being, Rose-marie would have to play for both sides.

"Save it for now" she said with a smile, a slight tinge of urgency however in her voice. "There's a spy in the ministry"

"Who?" I asked urgently, holding both of her shoulders with each of my hands.

"I don't know" she said, her eyes pleading for the subject to be dropped "But I have to warn everyone else" And so we turned to the one person we both knew had to know.

Mum was, of course, in the kitchen, trying to finish up as much of the food she possibly could by the time the marquee was pitched up. She was rushing around like a maniac, her green dress swishing around her as she went, flicking her wand at saucepans that needed washing and cakes that needed icing. It took her a good five minutes before she even realised we were there.

"Rose-marie, dear" she enveloping her into one of her bone crushing hugs, one that Rose-marie gratefully returned. "So glad you could make it" she said with a smile, pulling herself way to look at Rose-marie who stood only an arms length away. "You look beautiful"

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley" Rose-marie replied with a shy, blushing smile. "I actually need to tell you something-"Rose-marie began, but of course, mum cut her off.

"Enough time for chit chat later" she said beginning to push the girl up the stairs. "All the girls are up helping Fleur get ready; you go and join them dear" of course this was met with several polite protest from Rose-marie, all of which were half ignored, before mum finally came back downstairs. "Honestly, Fred" she said beginning to fiddle with the buttons on my rather striking yellow waistcoat. "Smarten yourself up a bit" she continued as she began pressing down on my hair, a lot harder than she used to.

"Mum, Rose-marie did have something important to tell you" I said once I got away and was a safe distance from her bothering, mothers hands. "There's a spy in the ministry" mum didn't look at all shocked, and if she was, she hid it well.

"We had assumed that dear" She replied, giving me a sad look. "But thank Rose-marie for telling us all the same" then she turned back to the stove and began playing with other things, however, this time she was slower less urgent. "I do wish that poor girl wouldn't put herself through so much trouble for us"

"Mum, she's on our side" I said, giving her the same lecture I gave myself when I lay awake at night, terrified I was waiting for a patronus that was never going to arrive. "She always will be. And if she can't fight, she's going to give us the next best thing"

"I suppose dear" my mother replied, putting her wand down and turning to me. "It's just such a shame to see everything that poor girl's been through. And now she's doing exactly what it was that got her parents killed" Mum's voice was quiet, solemn, and it was true. Michael and Holly Greengrass had spied for the order back in the first wizarding war, and they were both slaughtered for it by Bellatrix, and now Rose-marie was risking herself the exact same way. "Lovely people they were, so kind" I could have sworn I heard mum sniffle, but now wasn't the time to console her, I had other things to discuss with her.

"Mum?" I said tentatively, almost hoping she wouldn't hear me.

"Yes dear" she replied, her eyes slightly watery, but not enough for the tears to spill over.

"I just wanted to tell you - well I should tell you - but I also wanted to ask-" I bumbled out, trying my best to avoid the point. If I was talking to Rose-marie she would have given me a stern look, waved her hand before my face and called me strange name like 'goofball' but since it was my mum, she just waited for me to spit it out, which eventually I did. …"I'm going to ask her to marry me"

To say mum was happy was a serious under statement. She quite literally ran at me, wrapping me in an insanely bone crushing hug and cried into my chest, sobbing out words like 'Oh my boy' and 'Little Freddie'. I didn't take any of it to heart, I just let her cry out her tears before she pulled away, sniffling and watery eyed as she looked over me like I was a completely new person, a brand new son.

"You're all grown up now" she said with a watery eyed smile, her white, lace trim handkerchief held up to her face.

"Mum, time to go" said a voice from the doorway and there stood Ron, in all his gangly glory, wearing his dress robes. I noticed very quickly how his eyes kept darting towards the stairs. Of course you and Ron were already dating by this time and everyone knew about the two of you and your 'undying love' but still, you seemed to want to be subtle about it.

"Aww" I said, ruffling his hair as I walked past. "Is ickle Ronnekins looking for his ickle 'Mione" I said with probably the most patronising baby voice possible, but still he flushed red, which was what I wanted.

He mumbled a quiet 'piss off' but I was already in the marquee, too far away for me to hear him. After that a lot of the wedding was a blur, you would know of course, you were there. It was all a flurry of French relatives and red headed relatives and vows and speeches and food and then came the dancing. Now the dancing I remember.

Rose-marie and I were dancing together most of the night. Of course every now and then an old woman with blonde or red hair would whisk me away for a dance and quite a lot of younger men would whisk away Rosie, but we still ended up dancing together once again.

"Fred" she said to me during one of the faster songs, one that required allot of spinning and a lot of dips to look at all elegant.

"Yes" I replied, peering out of the corner of my eye at Bill and Fleur, how happy they both seemed. I wondered then if Rose-marie would say yes, if she would jump into my arms the way I dreamed. If we'd dance like this at our wedding, or gaze at each other the way Bill and Fleur did. "Do you think we're going to make it" she said, and the tone in her voice made me snap my head around just to look her in the eye. Those deep, terrified blue eyes.

"What do you mean?" I said, but I knew exactly what she was talking about, this was a war after all. What were the chances that every single Weasley and all their better halves like Rose-marie, Harry and you were going to all make it out alive.

"Don't play dumb" she said sincerely "This is a war, and there's no guarantee of us being on the winning side" she continued, her eyes beginning to fill, the sparkling blue of her eye shadow shimmering under the white light of the marquee. "What happens if one of us doesn't come back?" she finished this with her eyes cast towards the floor, like she couldn't bear to look at me, afraid I was already gone.

"Rosie, listen to me" I said, cupping her cheek as I brought her face back up to look at me. "We both have to make it back, there isn't going to be another way"

"You don't know that" she said again, the tears finally spilling over her pale cheeks. "I'm working on a suicide mission, Fred. We all know it. I can't tell you I'm going to always come back after I go away"

"You have to come back, Rosie, there isn't a way for you not to. Suicide mission or not, you're always going to come back to me." I said, my hand still holding her face like she was the most delicate of flower, most precious gem, most beautiful girl.

"How can you know?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Because, Rose-marie" I said, the Gryffindor bravery burning through my veins, making my voice work through the lump of nervousness in my throat and the butterflies in my stomach. "I want you to marry me" We froze then, both of us. The party kept on moving around us, but we didn't seem to notice, nor did we care. Nothing seemed to matter any more. I could hear my pulse in my ears, beating out a samba as I waited for her reply, my whole body aching for her response. I could feel eyes on me, eyes on us, but I didn't care. Once again, Rose-marie was all I saw.

I thought she was going to reject me, I honestly did, but then the second I felt her lips on mine, cool and slightly wet from tears, I knew she had accepted, and that we were going to be together and nothing could stop that. Not the war, not Voldemort, nothing.

"Is that a yes?" I asked with my typical boyish grin, all traces of nervousness of anxiety gone. She didn't say anything, the tears were still falling down her cheeks, but her smile was bright and alive, her eyes shimmering in the way I'd always loved. She nodded at me vigorously, before throwing her slim arms around my neck, a gesture she'd always reserved for me. I spun her round, neither one of us listening to the rupture of cheers and applause around us. And that's when the patronus came.

_'The ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming' _

That's when the death eaters descended.

* * *

"That why everyone was cheering?" Hermione exclaimed, like she'd never known about the reason, merely joined in with the rest of the crowd. The red headed man nodded in return, smiling sadly at the memory from all those years ago. "Did she go with you?" Hermione asked "When you apparated away" but this time the smile vanished and Fred shook his head, no.

"She was found by a death eater" Fred replied blandly "they dragged her back with them; I didn't see her for a long time after that"

"Fred I'm so sorry" she said, placing a comforting hand over his won, and she watched as the sad, almost forced smile stretched across his features.

"Don't be" he replied, a laugh creeping into his voice "She found me again, even if not in the way I had expected" his voice was quiet, nostalgic as he remembered this girl

* * *

It was late March, and George and I had been staying at the burrow helping Mum and dad for about two months. You, Ron and Harry were off on your horcrux hunt and the rest of us were left with nothing but the radio to know you were still okay. I was outside in the garden, sat on the log beneath the oak tree, staring at the ripple-less surface of the water as it reflected the slowly re-budding branches of the trees.

It was about three o'clock when I heard the faint popping noise at the end of the driveway. I heard the commotion of mum rushing out of the house shortly flanked by Dad and George before I finally found what they were all fussing about. And there she was.

She was wearing her normal clothing, a grey skirt with some sort of expensive, coloured blouse, today it was a crisp, clean white. Her hair was down, fluttering around her shoulders in the spring breeze.

"Rose-marie?" I shouted and she turned, her eyes meeting mine, and then I was running. I hadn't heard from her since Christmas, and in all that time I'd not known if she was alive or not. But she was here; she was okay, wrapped in the circle of my arms once again. "What are you doing here?" I asked, pulling away only enough to see her face.

"It's Harry" she said manically "He was at the manor, they caught him, Hermione and Ron too, I think they only just managed to get away" she was shivering, her whole body shaking as I held her against me.

"Shhh" I said, smoothing down her hair "its okay, you're okay"

"She tortured Hermione" she spluttered out, her voice choked and hoarse as I felt a small patch of my shirt growing wetter by the second. "I did nothing to help, she made me watch" I didn't ask who 'she' was, and I don't really think I needed to. The only woman mad enough to torture a girl and make you watch had to be someone with enough authority to do as she pleased without you-know-who's permission. Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Is Hermione okay?" I asked desperately. Rose-marie nodded, the tears streaking lines down her pale face.

"I came as soon as I could, I don't know if they noticed or not" she was frantic, her eyes skittering from left to right, as though she was scared of being followed.

"Its okay, Rosie" I said as I led her towards the house, into the warmth "Everything's going to be okay." Mum had retreated to the door way with George and dad standing behind her, a worried, maternal look crossing her face when she saw a traumatised Rose-marie being half carried through the door. I sat her down on the sofa my arm around her shoulder and let her stare towards the flame, nothing being said and nothing be heard, but that's all we could do. To bask in each others presence was a luxury that very few in this war had time for, even Lupin was struggling with Tonks and his soon-to-be child.

"I'm not going back" Rose-marie said after what felt like years of silence. She wasn't looking at me, but towards the flames, the orange and yellow light lighting up her light blue eyes like a furnace.

"What are you talking about?" I asked cautiously. I knew of course what she meant, and I understood, but being a wanted blood traitor was one thing, to be a deserter of you-know-who was something else entirely. It was a death wish.

"You said yourself that me playing for both sides was a suicide mission, well now I've chosen my side" the determination in her voice was enough to make me swell with pride. Of course she had made it clear there was never a choice as to which side her loyalties belonged to, but this was something else, now she'd admitted it, she was with the order one hundred percent. "And I fight with you"

"But Rose-marie" I pleaded, holding her hands between my own, looking into those blue eyes, watching the determination and the fear that battled against one another. "They'll kill you if they find you"

"I'm dead anyway" she said with a shrug and a sad smile.

"What are you talking about?" I asked seriously, all comfort gone from my voice, instead replaced by a chill, a stern tone that made Rose-marie squirm under my gaze.

"I disarmed Bellatrix at the manor" she said, her voice scared for herself and the regret seeping through her words. "She was going to kill Hermione right there, I took her wand just as Harry and Ron escaped. She'll kill me the first chance she gets for betraying her."

"Where's the wand now?" I pressed, pleading she hadn't ran off with it. Wands were, after all, traceable.

"I threw it across the room before I apparated here, she could either go for me or it, and she chose it" tears were falling again, slowly and delicately, only one at a time. "I couldn't let them die" I wrapped me arms around her shoulders, pulling her body even closer to mine, as I stroked her hair, whispering comforting words in her ear.

"You saved them Rose-marie" I told her proudly, and I felt her laugh against my chest as I slowly rocked her like I did the time in sixth year when she received a cruel letter from Lucius, wanting nothing more than to erase all the horrific things she'd seen.

"I'm fighting with you" she kept repeating to herself more than to me. And she did, and she fought valiantly.

* * *

"Not a day goes by that I don't remember her that night" the red head said to the brunette. Her head was still against his shoulder, her hand holding his as they stared into nothingness, the way they so often did, their silence speaking a thousand words.

"She really saved me?" Hermione finally asked, her eyes looking up slightly to catch Fred's, but his were too far gone. He nodded in response "All that time, I thought it was Dobby who disarmed Bellatrix, but I guess I was wrong" she said remorsefully.

"Does my ears deceive me?" Fred asked, theatrically cupping his ear as tough to hear better "Hermione Granger, admitting she was wrong"

"That's Weasley" she said, giving his shoulder a shove but she was laughing, all memories of her torture pushed from her mind for now. "Did they find her?" she finally asked sadly, her eyes looking for something in his, something they didn't seem to find.

"They didn't, no" he replied to her, returning the pressure to her hand that she gave his "Not until the final battle"


	8. Chapter 8

May 2nd 1998, the day the Wizarding world never forgot, the day of the final battle. As you know, he rest of the Weasley's and I didn't arrive straight away, we came through later, following the passageway opening into the room of requirement. We had not, however, thought of what mum would say when we brought Ginny with us, and as everyone knows, that didn't go well. We had planned to leave her at home with Rose-marie to keep the two of them safe, but there were only so many hexes we could dodge before we gave up. Rose-marie however had yelled profusely that I wasn't to leave her, but in the end my own selfishness won over and Rose-marie was left behind.

Anyway, it was about eleven minutes to midnight, and George and I were finishing up with the passageways, barricading them with anything and everything we could think of. Since we knew where all of them were, this seemed like an optimum job for us.

"Job well done Gr-" I began but was cut off by a shrill and very angry shout.

"Frederick Gideon Weasley" I turned slowly, looking towards the end of the corridor George and I were working on. And there she was Rose-marie Greengrass, my fiancé, wearing a pair of Ginny's jeans that fitted a little loosely on her hips and a white vest underneath her denim jacket.

She had her hands on her hips, staring daggers at me down the hall way, her eyes burning with anger like I'd never seen before. And yet, even with her anger, and her rushed messy bun, her cheeks tinged slightly pink from the no doubt flustering task of finding me, I'd never seen her look more beautiful.

"How dare you leave me behind!" she shouted, stalking down the hall towards me. Grabbing a fistful of my shirt, she pulled my face down to meet hers. "Don't you ever – and I mean _ever – _do that to me again! Do you hear me?"

"I just wanted to you to be safe" I said remorsefully, hoping the tone of my voice was enough to make her turn around and go home. It wasn't. If anything she looked more furious.

"And you don't think I want the same for you?" she shrieked. Before I could reply she had fisted her hands in my red hair, holding my face on level with hers in a way that made my back ache, but I didn't mind, not really. "I love you Fred Weasley, and I am not leaving you!" she enunciated her words, putting emphasis on each one, and then she crashed her lips to mine.

I could feel the soft, familiar feeling of her skin that I'd been used to feeling every morning when I woke up for the past two months of living at the burrow with her. She tasted like fruit, all traces of the muggle cigarette smoke gone. She'd quit once she reached the burrow, it was too risky for her to go out and buy them, but still she'd never seemed happier. Once she'd released my hair, I stood to my full height, wrapping my arms around her waist as I held her as close to me as I could, afraid that if I let go, she'd fade away. That's when the noises came.

We pulled apart, listening as we heard the protective shield around the school shudder, listening to the cracks and echoes of spells as the window flashed different colours and to the thundering of footsteps as every student under age made their way to the room of requirement, to safety.

"I have to go" Rose-marie said as we stared at each other, both of us breathless and – in my case- red faced. "But I'll be back"

"Promise" me I whispered, holding onto her shoulders and resisting the urge to shake sense into her, to make her leave "Promise me you'll come back" once again she grabbed my face in her hands, holding it so we were barely a centimetre apart, our noses touching, our breaths mingling.

"You couldn't stop me if you tried" she whispered and pressed her lips to mine once more in a quick, chaste kiss. It wasn't much, but it was enough "I promise" she said, slowly and agonisingly moving away from me, and then she ran, sprinting down the hallway the same way she had arrived, wand in her hand, a glistening wink of silver on her ring finger. She truly was mine. But this was no time too dwell on the luxuries of relationships, the battle had begun.

* * *

"This part of the story I remember" Hermione said solemnly, her eyes falling blank almost instantly. Fred understood why. To have lost someone so young, especially when they were everything to you. Ron and Hermione had been dating for three years by this point (excluding their break where by Ron became rather friendly with Lavender Brown) it seemed like only yesterday that Ron, the youngest of the Weasley boys was dancing with his first love at the Yule Ball, yet it seemed like a lifetime ago that he had ask Hermione to be his wife, right in the middle of the room of requirement, with the entire order watching. She'd sprung towards him, basilisk fang forgotten and the two had embraced. And so their engagement began.

"Do you want me to stop?" Fred asked, his own throat becoming harder to speak through, his mind relaying the images as her whispered words. Hermione was already pregnant by this point in the war, only by a few weeks mind you, but for long enough that she knew. Yet she never told Ron, she didn't have the chance, the fiery Gryffindor was too willing to risk her and her own child's life for the greater cause than to stay at home, hopelessly wondering what was to happen.

Rose was born the following December 9th 1999, joining Hogwarts for her first year on September 1st 2011 having not yet reached her eleventh birthday in time for 2010, that made this her fifth year, two years below Teddy Lupin.

"No, no" she said, shaking her head slightly, her unruly ringlets bouncing around her head. "Keep going, I want to hear how this ends" she looked up at him then, her eyes swimming with emotions Fred was all too familiar with seeing in his reflection everyday. The longing, the loss, the yearn for something never to return. He nodded at her, and continued to recall the event of that fateful night, of the winnings, of the losses, of those who rose and of the many more that fell, and he said it all with perfect clarity, you could easily see how often the images played through his scarred mind.

* * *

The battle was raging on, a fair share of deatheaters had already made it inside, Harry was nowhere to be seen, neither were you and Ron. Percy was one of the family again, and at this particular moment was with me on the left corridor of the seventh floor, the same floor that all the younger students were using to escape to Hogsmede, leaving me and Percy as the defenders.

We were duelling two hooded figures, neither one of them showing there face, but they were casting curses and spells with such precision it was hard for me and even for Percy to keep up with it all. We were being backed slowly into another corridor, our backs facing the wall, but we duelled on, even when we heard footsteps approaching we didn't have time to see who it was nearing.

Percy shot a spell, throwing his attacker off guard, the man backed off quickly and I just caught a glimpse of his streaked hair as he hood fell down.

"Hello, Minister!" Percy bellowed as he shot a jinx, hitting Thicknesse in the chest with starling precision. The Minster fell too the floor, dropping his wand as he clawed at the front of his black, deatheater robes. "Did I mention I'm resigning?" Percy asked in a way that I couldn't resist laughing.

"You're joking, Perce!" I shouted at him over the noise, watching from the corner of my eye as the deatheater I was duelling fell from the weight of three stunning spells, and the Minister Percy was duelling had tiny spikes erupting all over him. "You actually _are _joking, Perce…I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-"

And that's when the air exploded. I felt myself shudder from what felt like and earthquake, the entire floor vibrating, and I heard the wall directly behind me as it blew apart, showering rubble. I thought that was it, I thought I was done for, crushed in a fraction of a second, my life, over. I heard my name, but my mind was already elsewhere, dreaming of the days I'd lost, thinking of those shimmering blue eyes, and the promise I had broken.

But something hit into me, something that felt like a bus, sending me flying across the corridor, through the dust and rubble, hitting against the opposite wall and laying sprawled out on the floor. As gingerly as possible, not wanting to aggravate my throbbing, and now bleeding head any more than necessary I staggered to my feet, watching all directions as they spun and slurred, the dust fading into the semi-darkness. I could hear shouting, but it took a while for my mind to comprehend the words.

"Ron!" it was a girl, she was screaming, an agonising, heart-wrenching sound that shook the world more than this war ever could. A sound the pierced my eardrums and sent waves of shivers down my spine, a fear I didn't understand lodging it's self through my mind like a spear.

"No –no –no!" came someone else, "No! Ron! No!" and the world fell into clarity, the room resolving into an image I finally understood. About four feet away lay the wall, and beside it three people were grouped around another, weeping and screaming slicing through the air like knifes in the snow. I saw you first, your bushy brown hair escaping from its braid as you shook the limp body of your fiancé, tears streaking through the dirt on your face as you screamed for him. Percy was there too, holding onto what little bit of Ron he could find, desperately begging him to wake up. And finally, the boy who lived, he stood with his arm around you, crying soundlessly over the best friend he had lost after being through so much.

"Ron!" I shouted, I couldn't help it, war zone or not, there was no possible way that I had lost a brother, it wasn't possible, Ron was supposed to make it, he was supposed to marry you and have dozens of bushy, red headed babies with big brown eyes and the intelligence of their mother, this wasn't happening. "No – no, Ron" and I collapsed beside his body, grabbing onto the front of his shirt like a lifeline. "You're not the joker, Ron" I said through the tears, keeping my eyes off of you as you cradled his head, sobbing into his red hair. "That's mine and George's job. Now wake up!" but it was no use, his eyes were staring without seeing, his wand lay abandoned down the hall where he had stood before the explosion.

It was in that very moment I knew what had hit me, what had sent me sprawling across the floor. I knew the reason for the blood that was currently trickling down the side of my face, mingling with the anguished tears as they fell, the reason for the agonising pain in my side. My brother had given his life for mine.

* * *

Hermione, once again, was silent. She sat staring into nothing, tears falling down her face. Fred couldn't help but see the same 17 year old girl clutching her fiancé's lifeless body to her own, crying and screaming and begging for another chance. She was too young, too young to have lost so much. 17 years old, she was still a child, and Fred knew this, he knew how much she had sacrificed, but he also knew how much she had left to gain.

He reached over the miniscule gap between them, grabbing a hold of her hand where it lay beside her. She looked at him as though she had forgotten he was there, but she smiled, smiled through the tears and the pain, her big brown eyes looking so lost, so broken.

"He knew what he was doing" she said quietly, her voice choked with a sob "He made his choice" Fred didn't trust himself to speak, he still saw the girl, the one he sat up with at night in the burrow, the one he brought to his flat after finding her curled up outside in the cold. They were just kids, all of them, Harry and Ron included, just kids playing soldiers. And they paid the price for that, they paid the price for the game they never wanted to play. "Finish your story" she said sadly "Please" and he did.

* * *

The battle had been still for quite some time, Voldemort being 'generous' enough to allow us to tend to our dead. With Percy's help, I carried Ron to the Great hall, lying him down on the floor besides the bodies of Lupin and Tonks. I knew you and Harry were behind me, could see you reaching for Ron's limp hand from the corner of my eye, how you knelt next to him, wiping the hair from his face so tentatively.

I remember when mum came into the Great hall, dad hot on her heels. I could never forget the way she screamed, the anguish and raw pain that tore through the hall, turning every head, no matter who they'd lost. It was not a secret how many Weasley children there were, nor was it a secret how Molly Weasley loved each and every one of them equally. Every ones sympathy with us that day, no matter who they were, whether they liked the Weasley's or not, their hearts went out to Molly Weasley and the loss of her youngest son.

"Where is he?" came a shrill cry from outside the hall. "Where is he!" I looked to the doors, tearing my eyes away from my brother, lying white faced and blue lipped, the same expression on his blank face that as there, but now the war had quietened. I didn't think for a second it was over, any one who said so were too naïve to be fighting such a battle.

"Rose-marie" I breathed out when her eyes caught mine. And then she was running. She flung her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest.

"I thought it was you" she sobbed, her face was dirty, enough hair had fallen out of her bun that it didn't look tied back at all. "I heard people say about the Weasley boy, and I thought it was you, Merlin, Fred, I thought it was you" not trusting myself to speak I held her, cradling her head in my hand as a clutched her body to mine. I didn't care that every one in the hall was staring; I didn't notice how you and Harry had disappeared back into the remnants of the entrance hall. All I cared about was this second, knowing she was alive, that she was alright, and locked in the circle of my arms, the way she was supposed to be.

"I'm still here" I repeated to her, stroking her chocolate hair delicately as she continued to sob into my shirt. "And so are you" I said. I held her at arms length, stroking my thumb over her cheek, consequentially swiping a smear of blood across her face. It was then I fully took in her appearance.

Her hair was wild and dishevelled, blood trickling down from her hairline to the corner of her eye. She had a split lip; the blood already dried and crusted over her skin. The rest of her face was unharmed aside from the gash on her cheek that was still bleeding and the thin veil of dirt and dust that covered everyone's faces. There were clean streak marks down her face from her tears, her clothing looking a little worse for wear with rips in her jacket sleeve and a large tear down the left leg of Ginny's borrowed jeans.

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried" she said with a sad, watery smile. "Are you okay?" she asked, indicating with her head to where the Weasley's all knelt down besides the stretcher holding onto any part of Ron they could. Mum was pushing hair away from his face still, Percy held one hand, Bill and Fleur stood as close as they could, wrapped up in each others arms and George was sat on the other side of mum, crying as silently as he could. "Don't answer that" she finally said "I know you're not" and she walked around me, walking towards where mum was knelt.

George stood when she got close enough, allowing Rose-marie access to the space beside mum, the person who then proceeded to throw herself at Rose-marie, wrapping her into a bone-crushing, grief ridden hug. I could hear her whispered comforts, how she held the aging woman like she was a child. Then the great hall stopped, everyone froze, listening to the oncoming footsteps, the signal that the army was returning.

The sight we were greeted to in the Hogwarts courtyard was nothing any of us were expecting. Of course we were expecting too see the deatheaters, every one of them, marching back to try and take the school. Instead we were forced to watch as Hagrid, battered and bloody, carried Harry in his arms, still and lifeless. I heard Ginny's scream first, followed shortly by yours, and I felt the grip that Rose-marie held on my arm tighten as she drew herself nearer to me, and me closer to her, as though I could shelter her from the horrors she had seen tonight. And how much I wish I could.

"Harry Potter is dead" said the cruel, mocking voice of the Dark Lord as he laughed at our turmoil.

"No!" Ginny screamed, at the same moment you did as well, both of you running forwards towards the 'boy who lived'. I stood by and watched, my grip on Rose-marie's waist tightening as I watched George reach and grab you while dad restrained Ginny

"He cant be" I heard Rose-marie say besides me, her voice choking up once again, tears slipping down her dirt ridden face "He just cant be" Voldemort was speaking, trying to recruit other witches and wizards to his cause, but no one was stepping forward. "Merlin, no" she said, and I could feel her head shaking besides me, feel the vice-like grip she held onto my arm with as she saw Narcissa reach out for her son.

"Come, Draco" she said, with a forced sweet smile. Draco didn't move, instead he looked over at Rose-marie, at her dirt and blood covered face, taking it all in, his grey eyes pleading with her to understand. Rose-marie, to my disbelief, smiled at him, and even more surprising, he smiled back. It was then that Draco did that last thing any one, especially Lucius expected. He walked over the rubble, loosing his footing every now and then as he ventured his way across the desolation around him. Every pair of eyes were on him, watching when he stood next to Rose-marie, reaching out for her hand from about two feet away, a plea for acceptance brewing in his eyes.

Rose-marie didn't hesitate; she threw herself at him, wrapping her slim arms around the neck of her little brother, holding him tightly.

"Thank you, Draco" she said to him, loud enough for every one to hear.

"My loyalty lies with my family" he said when Rose-marie had released him, moving back to my side. He gave Rose-marie a brief smile, a feature that made Malfoy's face look softer, younger and less pointed. He looked like a boy, and that's all he really was. A kid playing soldiers. No one but me and Rose-marie saw Narcissa's proud smile at her children's choice, clearly she would have made the same one.

It was then the Neville stood forward, giving a strong speech about how Harry's heart beat for us, for all of use, before drawing a sword from the sorting hat and valiantly charging towards the dark lord like the Gryffindor he truly was. It was that moment that yet another unbelievable thing happened. Harry jumped down from Hagrid's arms, alive and well before disappearing behind a pile of rubble, firing spells at Voldemort's snake, Nagini, as he went. The crowd erupted into cheering, every one applauding Harry's ability to fool even the Dark Lord. It was then that the deatheaters attacked once again.

Grabbing Rose-marie's hand, I dragged her back into the great hall, both of us firing off curses in every direction as we went. Flashes of light were every where, some red, some green, some blue, all as aggressive and directive as the last. I could hear Rose-marie grunt with exertion as she fired spell after spell, jinx after jinx at the on coming death eaters.

You, Ginny and Luna were each fighting Bellatrix at one side of the hall, and I watched from my current duel as Rose-marie went to join you, to help you win.

"Rose-marie!" I shouted at her, desperate for her to ear me as I made my way to break through the crowd. If there was any one in this war that wanted Rose-marie dead more than Voldemort did, it was Bellatrix Lestrange. It was Rose-marie after all who had disarmed her at the Malfoy manor, effectively ruining any chance of withholding the boy who lived.

She barged through the three of you, pushing past, firing spells, curses and jinxes at Bellatrix with such speed, such agility and grace, that I found it hard to look away. The flashes of colour lit up her face, her blue eyes blazing with every spark, her face growing more and more determined. Somewhere in the battle she had abandoned her ripped and bloodied jacket, leaving her in nothing but a white vest smudged with dirt and grime.

I was still too far from her duel to help, too caught up by the onslaught of deatheaters that kept attacking from every direction, I was swamped. George and I were back to back, working together, the way we always did, the way we worked best. I tried to spare Rose-marie a glance as the three to one duel became one on one. You, Ginny and Luna were being dragged into duels with other deatheaters leaving Rose-marie and Bellatrix alone.

"How dare you bare his mark! You're not worthy, you filthy blood-traitor!" I could hear both of the girls screaming, neither one stopping the onslaught of spells for a second.

"I didn't want it!" I heard Rose-marie scream "I never wanted it! I'm not like you! I'm a Gryffindor!" then everything was drowned out by other spells and duels and I was too caught up to catch the words they spoke after that.

"Sectumsempra!" I heard a shrill voice shout, followed by a gleeful giggle. Wrenching my eyes from my duel for a second to look at Rose-marie, I froze. There she was, stood opposite Bellatrix, a shocked expression on her face, her hair falling around her shoulders, three slashes over the front of her vest, the white material slowly turning red.

She staggered once, then twice, before she finally fell onto the floor. Ginny retook her place, jumping onto the bench wand raised, ready to attack. I didn't see much more, I was bursting through the crowd, running towards her, to the one person I couldn't lose.

"Rose-marie!" I kept shouting over the clash of spells and crash of more rubble as the great hall crumpled more and more with every second. I reached her at the exact moment I heard Belllatrix taunting mum.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" She taunted, bouncing from side to side, dodging each of mums curses as they danced around her. "When mummy's gone the same way as Ronnie?"

The shouting echoed around me still, but I was too far gone, I held Rose-marie in my lap, ignoring every thing around me, centring my attention solely on her.

"Rosie" I said, holding her face in my hand, making her look at me with those terrified eyes as I held her "Rosie, you're going to be okay" I said, tears rolling down my face, choking all of my words, making them as believable as Luna's nargles. Her breathing was fast, a strange gurgling noise following every breath.

"Fred" she whispered, tears rolling down her eyes as she reached a pale, bloodied hand towards my face. I grabbed it, holding her chilled skin against mine, letting my tears fall onto her palm. "Is it bad?" she asked with a sick laugh in her voice. I chanced a look down, repulsed when I saw the white vest, more red than white with three large gashes across the front. It was then I noticed they were up her arms as well, each one bleeding furiously, her blood slowly pooling around her.

"You're okay" I said, my voice far from believable "You're going to be fine" I said as I rocked her, cradling her body to my own, her hand clasped so tightly in my own. I was vaguely aware of the battle dying down around me, all screams and shouts turning to whoops of glee and victory. I looked up briefly and saw Draco in the great hall's doorway with Narcissa by his side. Both were staring at me, or more likely, the dying girl I held clutched in my grasp. They didn't move, only observed.

Except she wasn't dying, of course she wasn't, I wouldn't believe it. Me and Rose-marie were going to be married, we were going to have children by the dozen, just like mum wanted, and we were going to live a long and happy life. This was all some sort of hallucination, a vision brought on by the stress of battle, or my knock to the head or the grief of losing Ron, there was no way on this earth that Rose-marie was leaving me.

"You're going to be fine, okay?" I said through the sobs that threatened to wrack my body at any second. "You promised you'd come back, and you have, lets leave it there" her big blue eyes were shimmering once again, not with pain or exertion, but with peace, with a serenity I was not ready to live yet. "This isn't funny any more" I said, daring too give her fragile body a shake.

"Fred" she said, followed by a quiet, gurgling cough, a thin trail of blood rising in the corner of her mouth. "Why me?" she asked too quietly for anyone but me to hear, and I knew then, I knew this wasn't a hallucination, this wasn't a trick of my grief infested mind, this was happening, here and now, Rose-marie Greengrass was dying. And that was the bitter truth.

"You can't leave me, Rosie" I said, gripping her tighter in my arms "You just cant"

"I always liked when you called me Rosie" she said with a sad smile. She tugged gently on the front of my vest, gently enough that I may not have felt it if it wasn't for all my senses being on fire, I heard everything, ever whispered word and I saw every thing, every strand of chocolate hair, every dainty freckle, every fluttering eye lash. I followed the direction of her hand as she attempted to tug me down, doing most of the work for her, but I didn't mind. She touched her lips to mine, a gesture so soft, so delicate, I barely felt it, but it screamed finality in a way I wasn't willing to accept. When I pulled back, Rose-marie's eyes were shut, never to embrace the light of a new day again.

"No" I whispered "Rose-marie, no!" I was increasingly aware of peoples eyes on me now, the Dark Lord was vanquished, every one was tending to the dead, and here I was, basking in the grief and sorrow of a lost love. How very selfish of me. But I allowed myself this. Just this moment of holding her, hoping, praying that any second her eyelids would flicker, those big blue orbs welcoming me to another day. "You promised me, you can't just break that promise" I sobbed, the tears streaking my filthy face faster than before, the weight of every loss pouring out in those tiny tears. "Come back too me, Rosie" I whispered, staring at her pale, lifeless face "Please, come back"

I don't know how long it was that I sat clutching her bloodied body to mine, but at some point, some one tried to wrench me away, dragging me away by the shoulders.

"Fred. Fred!" the person shouted and I spun in their arms, coming face to face with George, my twin, his face tear streaked like mine. "She's gone Forge" he said, putting a hand on my shoulder, but I shoved him away, but his face was accepting, not hurt like I'd expected.

"She's not" I shouted back at him, the pain and anguish evident in my voice. "She's coming back, she promised!" I think I collapsed then, falling onto the cold, stone floor of the entrance hall, letting the grief and the exhaustion wash over me like a wave, dragging me out to sea, dragging me back to her.

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**I know i usually end it on a present day moment, but i thought it worked better as and ending here. **

**please reveiw!**


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up a day later in the burrow, in my own bed, and I convinced myself it was all a dream. The battle hadn't started yet, we were leaving tonight, and everything I had seen, everything I'd heard, it was all a lie. I ran downstairs, finding everyone sat in the living room. Everyone except you and another brunette.

"Where is she?" I demanded, my fists clenched at my sides as I stared at each face, each guilty, grief stricken face.

"Fred, please" it was mum, she was sat in her chair, her eyes red and puffy from crying, she held a hand out to me. I reached out to take it, only to realise she was giving me something. I accepted whatever it was she gave me, looking at the palm of my hand only to see a simple silver band. It was small and beautiful with a single red gem. The engagement ring. "She would have wanted you to have it" My mother said to me, but I was already gone, out the door and apparating to the first place I could think of.

I thumped my fist against the large, black door, and when there was no answer I thumped again. Finally the door opened, revealing a pale, familiar face.

"Where is she?" I snarled, refusing to let any more tears fall down my face, mockery from Malfoy was the last thing I wanted right now, let alone what I needed.

"She's gone" Malfoy spat back, his own eyes were red and puffy, and indication he had been crying.

"She can't be" I spat back at him, the anger in my voice so strong it made him back off a few steps.

"I'm telling you, she is" and it was right then, listening to the words leave Draco Malfoy's lips, watching the tears fall from his own eyes that I reaaslised, she really was gone. It was true, all of it. Rose-marie Greengrass, my fiancé, my angel, had bled to death at the battle of Hogwarts in my arms. I still dont know why I believed Malfoy over my family, but I did.

I turned to leave then, unwilling to spend more time that I had to in a Malfoy's presence. It wasn't until I'd reached the end of the driveway, back to the apparation point that I heard Malfoy shout after me.

"Oi! Weasley!" he shouted, and I turned, looking at him over my shoulder, the blood stains from the battle still scarring both of our clothing's. I didn't respond; just let him say what he had to say so I could leave. Never had I felt so hollow, like something had been physically removed something I needed to keep me going, something I needed desperately. It was an ache, no, not an ache, it was pain, a devastating longing for something I was never going to see again. My own fiancé, gone. "I loved her too" and he slammed the door loud enough to vibrate the earth beneath my feet.

I never did heard from Draco Malfoy's after that. Some say he moved away to live in another country, a way for him to escape the divorce between the two deatheaters he held for family. Others say he came back to finish his final year of Hogwarts before becoming an unspeakable for the Ministry of Magic. But I knew differently.

He hadn't left to escape the divorce of his parents; he left to escape the pain and the grief that tore through him whenever he walked the empty hallways of Malfoy manor, each corridor tainted by one memory of the tall, chocolate haired girl with the eyes like the summers sky or another.

He could hear the haunting tinkling of the piano in the music room where it sat untouched, never to be played again. He could see her in the Malfoy orchard, the place he had once seen her with a unicorn he then proceeded to scare away. No matter where he looked, her saw her. And no matter where he went, that never changed.

* * *

Neither of them spoke, just sat together on the sofa, Hermione with her arms around the red heads shoulders, consoling him as best she could as she cried silently into his hair, dreaming of holding another Weasley boy. And Fred, he clutched at Hermione, sobbing into the front of her pyjama shirt, gripping onto anything he could, wishing it was another brunette. This was what founded their relationship, Hermione longing for a Weasley she'd lost, Fred longing for a girl he was never to see again.

"Why don't I remember her?" Hermione sniffled, Fred just shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. And so Hermione accepted how she didnt know, she assumed it was the stress, the trauma she went through that day, it would be a mricale to have not affected her mentally. She should have paid more attention, she should have asked Fred sooner, she should have done something. It was only fair she forgot.

"I'm so sorry, Fred" Hermione whispered as she rocked him slowly, back and forth, back and forth, him sobbing against her the entire time. She was strangely reminded of the time Rose had awoken from a nightmare. She come running into Hermione's room, no older than five years old, screaming bloody murder, claiming she'd seen a monster, a man-like creature with milk white skin and red eyes, slits for pupils.

"Why her?" he murmured through his tears "She was so brave, why did she have to go?"

"Because the best one's always do" Hermione replied grimly, her grip on the red head tightening as she clung to him, using him to anchor her to the earth, to stop her fading away the way she deeply wanted to. "We need to go" Hermione whispered after what felt like hours. Fred had cried himself out a while ago, but still he clung to her. One hand gripping her arm, the older holding the chain around his neck, the simple silver chain that held a simple silver ring. He never took it off.

The two Gryffindors emerged from their respective bedrooms a few minutes later, there faces wiped of the grief and pain they had showed not so long ago. Hermione wore a plain white dress beneath a navy blue blazer, flat, black shoes on her feet. She'd tamed her hair to fall around her shoulders in still crazed ringlets, a light dusting of makeup covering her previously red face. Fred however wore black jeans and a button down blue shirt, nothing but trainers on his feet.

"Time to go" he smiled sadly at Hermione as the witch strapped a black watch around her wrist. She nodded at him, grabbing her bag from the side, not bothering to check its contents before walking towards Fred, looping her arm though his where he offered it.

"Time to go" she replied, her smile sad, but not forced, and the two of them apparated to the station.

"Would you believe it" Hermione said out of no where, drawing Fred's attention away from the uninteresting pigeon he'd been watching for the better half of twenty minutes, and back towards the with besides him.

"What?" he replied from where he leant against the wall, his hands in his pockets.

"Over there" Hermione said, pointing through the throng of parents stampeding the platform, her finger indicating towards a tall man with a rather pointed, yet attractive, face. He wore black suit trousers and a white shirt, a grey tie loose around his neck, his blazer jacket scrunched in his hands as he checked his undoubtebly expesnive watch. There was no mistaking it; even from this distance Fred could recognise that platinum white hair. Draco Malfoy.

"What do you know" Fred replied with a chuckle "Ferrets gone and got himself a kid. Hermione who do you recon the unlucky-" but as he turned to look at the little brunette witch beside him, he noticed she was gone. He looked around puzzled for a moment, only to see her reappear before him, a rather dubious looking Draco in tow.

"Draco" she said with such familiarity that Fred couldn't help but give her a sideways glance of disbelief. "You remember Fred" she said, indicating to the red head with her face up palm. The two men nodded at each other politely, neither one of them as cocky or arrogant as they used to be. Too much pain, too much loss. Fred still saw the boys smile as his sister hugged him, the distraught, anguished look on his face as she bled out in Fred's arms.

"So you're married now then, Malfoy" Fred said after what felt like an overly long awkward silence.

"No, not any more" he said casually, but Fred caught the sideways glance he sent Hermione, even if the witch was too oblivious to notice herself. "She left when Scorpius – that's my son by the way – turned two. I never saw her again" Fred couldn't help but smile, not from the fact of Draco's failed marriage, but from the pride he spoke about his son, it was the same way his father used to speak about him, all those years ago.

"Who was she, if you don't mind me asking" Draco's face clouded for a second, a scowl creeping onto his face. It was gone a moment later.

"Astoria Greengrass" he replied coolly, his grey eyes guarded in a way Fred was too familiar with for comfort. Draco seemed to notice how Fred flinched at the name, and Fred expected him to smirk and pick out everything he could to degrade Fred. But instead, the mans face softened. "She was Rose-marie's cousin" he said blandly, "The side of the family that rejected her, that's why we took her in" his eyes refused to meet Fred's as they fell into an awkward silence.

The moment, however, was short lived when the whistling sound of steam echoed through the platform, soon followed by a great, red steam engine pulling up before all the eager parents, all of them excitedly waiting for their sons or daughters to be welcomes home.

"Mum!" a girl shouted, she was tall and slim, yet she still shoved her way through the crowd of people with ease, some looking back to give her dirty looks. She wore faded jeans and a red blouse, her frizzy, brown hair flying wildly behind her as she ran, throwing her arms around her mother's neck.

"Oh I've missed you!" Hermione said to the girl. She pulled back, her face red from running and excitement, her eyes wild and ecstatic.

"Mum, this years been brilliant" the girl exclaimed. She looked exactly like her mother, frighteningly so in fact, they were similar heights and size, both with round faces and a bird's nest of brown hair. They even dressed similarly. She was the spitting image of Hermione in her fifth year, except the eyes, where Hermione's were a deep, chocolate brown, Rose's were a starling sapphire blue, her fathers eyes. "I got E's on every exam, and I'm a prefect, it wonderful! I'm sorry I didn't write much, it's been hectic, I've learnt so much!"

"Her mothers daughter" Draco said quietly with a chuckle, but Fred heard him. He was going to attempt to engage in conversation with the man, but then Draco was bombarded by something very small that was moving _very_ fast.

"Merlin!" Draco said as he had to step back a bit "I see someone's had a good year" Wrapped around Draco's waist were the thin arms of a small boy dressed still in his robes, his hair the same shocking blonde as his fathers.

"Hi, Dad" the little boy said, smiling joyfully at his father who wrapped an arm around his shoulders proudly.

"Scorpius" Draco began. "I want you to meet some people" and suddenly Scorpius wasn't so boisterous. He cowered slightly behind his father when he was turned to face the two brunettes and the red head. "This is Hermione" he said, indicating to the witch who gave a sweet, maternal smile "And her daughter, Rose, and her…brother?" he asked Fred suspiciously. Fred smiled at first, and then laughed, bending down to Scorpius's height.

"I'm Hermione's brother" he said proudly "Fred Weasley" Scorpius's face wasn't nervous anymore, instead, his pale feature lit up with glee and awe.

"As in _the _Fred Weasley" Scorpius said, gawping at Fred like, well, an excited child. "You own Weasley Wizard Wheezes!" Fred could see Draco as he raised his hand to his face, hiding the embarrassment of having a prankster for a son.

"That's me" Fred said proudly, puffing his chest out slightly, much to Hermione and Rose's amusement. "Always please to meet a fan. You come by the shop any time"

"Merlin's beard, don't encourage him" Draco said with a laugh, one that the others quickly joined in with. "Well Scorpius, we'd better be going. Say goodbye" and so goodbye's were shared, a surprisingly friendly hand shake for Fred, a polite nod to Rose and a kiss on the cheek for Hermione, one that left her blushing slightly. You never would have thought that this was the same woman who was crying just that afternoon about the husband-to-be she'd lost. And so the two Malfoy's disappeared through the barrier.

"Time to move on" Hermione said quietly, apparently not realising she'd spoke out loud as she stared where DRaco had jsut walked off to. "We should go to then" Hermione said quickly, her cheeks still tinged pink as she tried to hurriedly change the conversations course, to distract her daughter and from asking any questions. Fred shared a giggle and a wink with Rose before they all began walking.

"I met the mad princess, as well" Rose exclaimed proudly.

"The what?" Fred questioned. Every school year when Rose came home for the summer, delighted to tell her uncles what new and wonderous things she'd found, all of which had already been found by the twins. 'I found a new secret passageway' she'd boast, not knowing the twins had already found that one in their first year. But this, this was new. Never in all his years at Hogwarts had Fred ever come across 'The Mad Princess' "The Mad Princess?"

"That's what the Gryffindor's call her. The Slytherin's call her 'the lost girl', but that doesn't sound right for her." She replied blatantly, like her word was law, and in their home, it usually was. "She's a ghost" she added, her big blue eyes shining as she patronised her uncle, the eyes so much like her fathers.

"Well, George and I learnt every inch of that school, and we never met 'The Mad Princess'" Fred said as they continued to walk, his arms crossed against his chest "Who is she anyway?" he asked curiously, looking at the extremely cocky looking teenager in the corner of his eye.

"She's not very old, 18, maybe. She's got long, dark hair and really light eyes, and I mean _really_ light coloured eyes." Fred sneaked a glance at Hermione who was listening as intently as he was, her eyes met his and a silent agreement crossed between, this ghost sounded far too familiar for comfort.

"Where is her haunting spot?" Hermione asked, thinking of Helena Ravenclaw in the Ravenclaw tower, and the other ghosts with their allotted spaces to call home.

"She goes anywhere, she seems to spend most of her time looking for something" Rose said with a confused frown. Much like her mother, Rose hated not knowing things, and it was incredibly likely she would study this ghost until she had all the answers she wanted. "But on Christmas Eve she waits in the courtyard and she's there on the first Hogsmede weekend too" Fred's stomach was twisting with nerves, it couldn't be, she'd never be s ghost, it was impossible. "Then on the night before Halloween she walks into the forest and you can hear her shouting"

Rose's face looked concerned for a moment, like the screams of a wailing ghost were still haunting her, but it was nothing compared to what Fred was feeling. "Then on the anniversary of the war" Rose started, giving both her mother and her uncle an apologetic look for mentioning the war they both fought in.

Hermione smiled, urging her daughter to continue her story. "She just lies down on the floor, in the middle of the Great hall, propped up by something thats not there, and she bleeds. I heard her speaking this year, whispering to someone who wasn't there, and then she just floats through the floor and we see her roaming the halls as confused as she always has been the next day"

"So, everyone has seen this ghost?" Hermione pressed on, knowing Fred was in no mood to talk, but still knowing he wanted the answers. Instead he fingered the chain around his neck, feeling the warmth of the metal where it had touched his skin for so long.

"Everyone see's her, you'd be stupid not to" she boasted, the arrogance she'd somehow gained showing through "But not everyone gets to speak to her, she usually just talks to herself, or more commonly, shouts to herself." The group of wizards had stopped walking, all of them stood at the entrance of Kings Cross Station, Hermione had shrunk all of Rose's luggage to fit in her purse, Rose's slinky black cat trotting along beside the group, glaring up curiously with her round blue eyes.

"Have you spoken to her?" Hermione pressed, clearly making her daughter feel uncomfortable and confused.

"Once or twice" Rose replied, looking at her mum with worried eyes.

"What did she say?"

"She called me Hermione" Rose blurted out, clearly fed up with her mother pressing questions. Hermione and Rose being so similar was both a gift and curse, they were so similar that it didn't take much to make one irritate the other, and they knew exactly how to push the other ones buttons. "She saw me and called me Hermione, then I spoke to her for a while, found out who she was, stuff like that." Rose was looking between her flustered and clearly agitated mother, guiltflowing through her chocolate eyes, and then back to her frozen, blank looking uncle.

"I've heard enough" Fred said, looking up at the two girls left in the world he loved besides his mother and other sister "Why don't we go home" He plastered on his best, fake grin, praying it was enough to settle everyone down. And it was.

They returned that night, the three Weasley's, to their three bed roomed house above Weasley Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley. They ate dinner like the family they were, stayed up late telling stories of the school and finally all went to bed, all but Fred.

Fred stayed awake the night sat on his bed, still fully clothed, just staring at nothing. The muggle alarm clock Hermione had gifted him for Christmas sat on his bedside table, the little red numbers flashing _03:29._ With a sigh, he reached under his bed, his hand only fumbling for a second before grasping hold of the sturdy, leather handle and pulling.

He wrenched open the top of the trunk, revealing all the contents within: a folded set of robes, ink pots and empty parchment, the research Geroge did on Rose-marie in fifth year with the picture still smiling sweetly, prototypes for a Fanged Frizbee, some old firecrackers and letters, so many letters. Reaching down, he grasped the first one he could.

"Lumos" he whispered, and his wand flared, shining with a dim, white light, just enough to read by. It was one of her notes, written in her hand writing, one she'd delivered to him with her owl, Amata, named after one of the witches who visited the _Fountain of Fair Fortune_ in _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_. He read over it, smiling sadly at the remnants of her cursive handwriting. The parchment was yellowed, torn and bent at the edges, the dark blue ink fading from time, but it was still her writing.

_Dear Fred, _

_I am done! I've had it up to my eyeballs with Zabini this year, how many times can you tell a guy no? _

_I can't wait for our next Hogsmede visit, I am in dire need of more Honeyduke's chocolate, I don't know how much longer I can last!_

_I've had more idea's for the easter prank this year, and I wanted to run it by you and George first. Meet me in the usual space. _

_It involves antlers and a lot of love potions, I shall say no more._

_Hope you enjoy your day. _

_You're friend_

_Rose-marie_

He smiled longingly at the memory of spring in his sixth year, watching her from the corner of his eye as he left the Great hall, George in tow, and how she'd dragged them into the nearest alcove, fit to burst with her idea's. That's how she always was, so bright, so alive, shinning like the first star in the black expanse of the night sky. That one little star that peeped out before the others, before the sun had even set, the one every one wished for. That was Rose-marie. Now every one waited for another star, but not Fred, his eyes were only ever cast to the skies for that one, the one that shone the brightest.

He reached into the trunk again, the letter sat delicately beside him on the bed. This time he pulled out a large, leather bound book, covered in dust with nothing on the front page. It was heavy though, that much he knew. Flipping the cover open, he was greeted once again by Rose-marie's sweet, cursive hand writing, this time in colour changing ink, the colours only working with green and red now, the magic faded over time.

_Happy birthday, Freddie!_

_I know how much you whine and moan about not having any pictures for your flat, so I decided I'd give you a bunch. _

_ Enjoy looking through our past four years together. _

_Love always, _

_Rose-marie_

He remembered this gift too. She had given it to him on his birthday, the last birthday she ever shared with him, one month before the battle. She was so giddy with excitement; she gave it to him the night before his birthday too excited to hold back any longer. She could be such a child sometimes.

The album was entirely full, fit to bursting with memories and letters. There were two pictures per page, then a page full of writing, then two more pictures. Rose-marie had a strange obsession with explaining everything fully before letting it drop.

The first picture was the three of them in her third year, the first year of them being friends. She was in the middle as they sat by the tree, the caption below reading '_Tree time with the twins'._ She'd gotten the camera that year with her birthday money and decided she wanted to document her time at Hogwarts. George was leaning against the tree next to Fred, Rose-marie held the camera in her hands, the cheesiest smile plastered on her face as she snapped a picture of the 'tragic trio'.

The image moved, her blue eyes shinning as she fell back against the two boys, George was shocked at first, but smiled at the camera all the same, but Fred, Fred was smiling at Rose-marie, watching her as she giggled away.

The picture below was of Fred and George swimming in the black lake that spring, long before it was warm enough, both of them wearing nothing but their school trousers. They would have worn more if it hadn't been for Rose-marie levitating their clothing just out of reach. The image moved and showed the two of them jumping and grasping, then after realising Rose-marie had their wands, running towards her. The caption read - '_Chilly?'_

He flipped through a few more pages, months worth of memories flickering past his eyes, she'd really documented everything. He stopped finally on a picture captioned with _'Yule ball'. _It was the picture taken of the couple before entering the hall, Fred's robes were still on as he smiled at the camera, chancing a glimpse of the girl next to him, once he looked away, she glanced at him for a second too. He'd never noticed that before. The picture below was the one he'd seen before, him holding Rose-marie by the waist as he spun her around, her dress flaring around her like fire, her face lit up in a delightful cheer. There wasn't a caption for this one.

Flicking once again he came to a picture at Bill's wedding. The first simply read '_Happy couple' _and it was one of Rose-marie and Fred, both craning there necks to get into a picture with Bill and Fleur dancing in the background. Rose-marie seemed to keep changing her mind on pulling a strange face or a smile. Beneath that was the one Fred was looking for the most.

It was the wedding again, but this time the floor was empty, only a few couples remained. It must have been taken shortly after she accepted his proposal since her face was flustered, her eyes shut as he pressed his forehead against hers. They were dancing still, the way they always danced, arms around each other, spinning awkwardly to the music, being in time or not didn't matter. Fred's eyes were open, staring at her lovingly, like he held the most precious being in the entire world in his arms, and there's reason to believe he was. The caption beneath the image read – '_Why me?'_

Fred fell asleep like that, the book cradled in his arms, curled up on top of his covers, still fully clothed. At least that's how Hermione found him the next morning. She didn't wake him, just went out with Rose for the day, she'd come back later and pick Fred up for lunch with all the Weasley's and the Potters, leaving the red-headed man to sleep the day away to dream about the brunette girl, a soft smile gracing his lips as he slept through the pain.

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**So the memories are all gone and only one chapter remains...dun dun dun!**

**please reveiw this story, i want to know what you guys think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So this is it. the end.**

**thank you to anyone who has read this story, pleas eleave me a reveiw to know what you thought. **

**good-bye for now**

* * *

The school was different, so different. All the walls were new and clean and barely aged. But every now and then they would shift back, and once again all to be seen was the crumbling stone, the blood stained floor, and missing, something was missing. Why was something always missing?

The girl was so young, far too young to be fighting so many, but she wasn't fighting. why did she think she was fighting? That's all she thought about, too young, far too young; it was a mantra to her now.

She glided through the empty hallways, all the children gone already. So fast, everything happened so fast. The walls continued to shift, old then new, clean then dirty, white then red. The images were flashes, lights sparking with different colours before her eyes, the screams that echoed around the castle walls, the dust and the rubble, the relief, oh the relief.

That was what would hit her last, that moment of salvation, that heart warming relief that spread through her un-earthly body before it fell cold once more and she was plunged back into the dark. How she hated the dark. It was happening now, everything was shifting before her eyes, all happening so fast. The halls were empty and baron of life, then in a fraction of a second would be filled with the hurtling stampede, the screams and the pain, always the pain.

She looked at the floor, where it sat a few inches below where she hovered, how she wished for her feet to touch the ground. If she could do that, just that, maybe the clarity would return, maybe she could remember, maybe the shifting would cease. But for now she just stared, looking idly at the tears in her vest, the silver stains that shrouded her body, the hideous slashes in her non-existent skin. She saw the mark, the horrible mark, she hated it, but why did she hate it?

And then all of a sudden he was there, holding her, cradling her, and he was shaking her, and she was crying and so was he, the blood pooling around her like a morbid halo. She could hear him, the words that left his lips, the lips so familiar to her, if only she could remember him, if only she could understand him, maybe if she understood them, she could understand everything else. So cold, always so cold.

There was laughter and crying, rejoice and despair, how could two worlds so different, so contrasting collide. She could see exams, rows of students in rows of chairs, each scribbling away with seconds to spare, then it was a battle, the walls destroyed, the students replaced by bodies, bodies every where. And there he was again, holding her, but the pain was gone, relief in its place. She grasped at him, holding onto him as she screamed, why did she always scream?

The images resolved and she was in the hall again, the hall that was great, how could a hall be great? She glided down the aisle between the tables, she always wanted to walk down the aisle, and now she could, she smiled as she went, looking forward to something that wasn't there.

This wasn't right, this wasn't the aisle she wanted, it was wrong, all wrong. Why was everything wrong? Then she stopped, the images came again, just as fast as they always did. The blood, the battle, the war, each one slamming into her rotting mind. Then there was a girl, a girl so young, and girl who looked so familiar. They had spoken, only briefly, but they had spoken, and she had understood. Hermione, she looked like Hermione, but she wasn't Hermione, who was Hermione?

It was too much, everything was too much. She wanted it to end, why couldn't this end, everything had too end, why not this. Time, so little time, she had so little, no, she _had _so little time, her time was already up. Then why was she still here? Why was everything still here? Missing, something was missing.

A voice, she could hear a voice. It was low, not her voice, not a voice she recognised, but it was, and she knew the voice.

"Rose-marie" it called and she turned her eyes scanning from the height she was. Someone was coming. She dove behind a tapestry, shrouding herself in the fabric, if only she could feel it. "Rose-marie, are you in here?" there again, closer now. She dared a peek, her eyes catching the image. It was him, it was always him.

The flashes came again. Him in the snow, him by a tree, him in a lake, him wearing green, him holding her, him smiling, him crying, him, him, him.

"No!" she shouted, bursting through the tapestry at him, clutching her head. She flew through him and the flashes stopped. The world resolved, it was all so clear. Rose-marie, he had called for Rose-marie. She was Rose-marie. She turned slowly, looking at the boy who was no longer a boy. Age had been kind to his face, years of grief and longing barely visible. It made sense, everything made sense. She felt herself lower, something beneath her feet. She was standing, she was grounded, she understood. "Fred" she whispered, her eyes turning from grey to blue as he watched with astonishment written on his face.

Everything was clear, but she was not, she felt...distant. Her hair used to be brown, her vest red. "Why me?" she whispered again, and Fred ran to her, but he could not touch her, no one could touch her. She couldn't feel it, even as his skin brushed what used to be hers, she couldn't feel it. She felt herself dissolving once again, dissapearing.

"Rose-marie" he asked, his voice cracking up on the words "What happened to you"

"Missing" the girl replied, her hands rubbing together, her eyes never leaving the man, Fred, for in a second should she would forget him once again. She couldn't forget again. "Something's missing" he was crying, she knew she was crying too, but she felt nothing, not the liquid on her cheeks, or the touch of his hand against hers. "I'm lost without it, so lost" she cried then, and he moved towards her, never touching, only observing.

"I brought you something, Rosie" He said. She looked at him, Rosie, how she loved that word, the way it sounded. It was music to her ears, how she used to love music.

"I always liked when you called me Rosie" she said with a sad smile, the same sad smile. Fred's heart was breaking, ripping and tearing before shattering, all the pieces falling by his feet. Her last words, why her last words, she could say anything, adn she chose that. What had happened to her? She was there, he could see her, but she was so far away, too far lost for even magic to save.

He held out the chain towards her, the chain he had never removed. She looked at it, observing it like a dog would a cat, cautious yet curious. She stepped forward her hand reaching for the simple silver band, the grey turning to white. Fred reached too and he felt, he truly felt her skin brush his, too cold, far too cold, even for Rose-marie, but he could feel her.

The colour was spreading and before long she was in his arms, her wounds bleeding on his shirt, but she didn't look faint, nor in pain, she just smiled.

"I came back" she whispered and he smiled, a sad, grief stricken smile, and his kissed her, long and softly, before she could see the tears falling down his face. They pulled apart too quickly for Fred's liking, but he knew it was all too good to be true "I came back" Rose-marie whispered, clutching the ring in her hand. "I came back" and she continued to repeat those three words, attempting to slip the ring onto her nonexistent finger. The metal fell through as she turned grey once more, but Rose-marie stared at her hand in awe, as though the ring has slotted on her finger, the way it was supposed to be.

"You can be at peace now, Rosie" Fred said through his tears, watching as the ghost of the girl he loved stood opposite him, staring at her hand like it was the most amazing thing in existence. "You found what's missing, you're free" she looked up at him then, the smile so familiar on that face that I wrenched Fred's heart even more.

"Oh, Fred" she said and she stood right in front of him again. She reached a hand up to caress his cheek, her touch like icy water on his skin, but it was still there, almost. "It's not the ring that was missing" she said, her voice back to normal, she sounded like Rose-marie, not the deranged and confused ghost Fred had seen when he arrived. "It was you. I can't find my peace until you find yours" she began to fade then, her grey skin turning clearer by the second.

"You're fading!" Fred exclaimed, pointing towards her as she moved backward away from him. She smiled at him, a sweet, understanding smile.

"This is my life now, Freddie" she said as her legs and arms continued to fade. "I relive all of our moments, every one of them, including this one, searching for whats lost, until you find your peace"

"So this isn't goodbye forever?" Fred asked, his voice pleading and heartbreakingly sorrowful "You're coming back"

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried" she laughed as she faded completely, her body vanishing from sight, leaving Fred alone in the empty Great hall, alone where she died. He'd lost too much to this school, His love, his brother, his own sanity.

No more, today Fred would walk out of this school, not having lost anything else, and when his time came he would return, but only then, embracing his fate with his arms opened wide, but that day wasn't this day. He left the great hall then, snagging the ring from the floor on his way out, slipping the chain back over his head, letting the cool metal sit against the warm skin of his throat once more.

* * *

And so the cycle began once more, the lost girl would relive her moments, each and every one, never knowing what time had gone by, spending everyday waiting for her Prince to return. And the children who learnt of magic and spells and magical creatures would watch her.

Some would call her mad, other would think she was nothing but the select few would know, they would learn of her story and they would respect her, they would watch, awestruck as she lay in the great hall, her own blood pooling around her, and they would understand her turmoil. They all knew what she was waiting for was worth relieving a thousand traumas.

And as Fred watched his family grow, watched Hermione and Draco find their peace with one another, watched the love and the drama, the good times and the bad times, he realised that he had that no one else did. Fred Weasley knew where he was going.

He had no reason to fear death, to the fear the oblivion that was the great unknown. He knew what it was that waited for him at the other side, and he would embrace it with open arms when the time came, but until then he would live, he would live the years that were taken from her, he would live them to the fullest. For Fred Weasley knew, he truly understood the power that came when you loved what was lost.

* * *

**so thats the end. **

**i hope you enjoyed it, I'm a little sceptical myself. **

**im thinking of writting a short story of what happened to Hermiione and Draco... let me know if you'd like that. **

**Please reveiw! **


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